Eglu Go & guinea pig zippi run

[Babs&Ginger]

Ginger is none too pleased...as we have no alternative accomodation for the new 2, we decided to bite the bullet & put them in the run with Ginger. She's chased them round a bit & pecked them, but not pulled any feathers out. She jumps on top of them...they retreated to the Eglu & have been there ever since. The Ukadex that I originally ordered for the evil one (Babs), ironically arrived today, so we've sprayed the new girls with that now that Ginger has made it quite clear that she was here 1st. They're still in the Eglu, but Ginger has put her head round the door, but hastily retreated & wiped her beak in the chippings. I was warned that this stuff stunk, but my god, I didn't think it would be quite that bad!!! Burning flesh springs to mind!! If it works, I can put up with the smell. The new girls are called Nigella & Delia....Nigella has a few black tail feathers & Delia is the spitting image of Ginger with white under feathers. I noticed this afternoon that Babs had done more damage to Ginger than I thought. Babs had pulled all the feathers off the top of her left leg...so she's got 2 big bald patches....Babs definately needed to go.

[Sandychick]

Good luck with the new girls, I hope it all works out well for you this time. I'm sure you know this anyway but keep a close watch on them for the first few days if thay are all together in the run. Are the new ones getting access to the food and water??

[Egg Lou]

Hope all goes well and they settle down very soon!

[Scramble]

Good Luck!

I'm sure that everything will be fine for you on the chicken keeping front from now on

As for babs...well, maybe she's just what they call a 'bad egg'

no offence to her

Have you kept babs in a separate house and run or has she be given to a new home?

[Babs&Ginger]

Babs has gone back to Omlet...they changed her for me, but charged me for the 2nd hen - Ginger is now in solitary confinement as she wouldn't let Nigella & Delia out of the Eglu, in doing so denying them of food & water. Made a makeshift run for her...she was going for them claws up & pinning them down underneath the grub & glugs...she's turning more psycho than Babs we've got nowhere else to keep her, if it carries on she may have to be rehomed too. Nigella & Delia are chunky, happy little chickens - total opposite to Babs & Ginger...a month on & they hadn't out much weight on & are a bag of bones when you pick them up. They'd gone off their pellets, but Nigella & Delia love their grub (bit like thier name sakes!!!) they both got stuck into the pelletts as soon as they arrived & haven't stopped eating them since!! I'm not having much luck with them!!! Don't suppose anyone wants to rehome my wayward Gingernut Ranger!!!??

[Yolky]

I think from reading on the forum that you need to give ginger a bit of time. The behaviour she is showing to the newbies is normal chicken behaviour, its her area and she wants to be top chook. Do you have any bamboo canes? If you do then you can make a bamboo cane wall so they are near but ginger cannot do them any damage.

[Babs&Ginger]

We've got a few, but I'm worried she'll hurt the new ones in the Eglu before we let them out in the morning..

[Sandychick]

They should be ok while it's dark but there could be problems early in the morning. Can Ginger be kept seperate tonight - maybe in a cardboard box if you have a secure place to put it? Or get up very early to seperate them. I think the bamboo cane idea is a good one for the next few days at least. They can get used to each other without causing any damage. They can all get to their own food and water this way too. Do they free range at all. This would be a good way to introduce them initially as they have space to get away from any nastyness. It all needs to be very well supervised whenever they are together to start with. Don't give up on Ginger though......it's quite normal to have this kind of hostility for the first couple of weeks.