2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[theladdies]

Hi am new to the site and also to my lovely laddies that arrived yday, have question, understand there may be some pecking to confirm who's boss, i have taken on board 3 chickens and one is really what i can say is a thug, they only arrived yday she has pecked my already and stands up to me, but the poor other two she pecks them won't share the sweetcorn i gave them tea time, is this normal or have i got a bully on my hands, also when the laddies turned up with the company there was a egg in the cat carrier already which i thought strange as they are young, in the afternoon the black miss peperpot layed a egg but was no good just like white rubber but had yolk and the other two tried to eat it i quickly tired in vain to get the egg out is this normal.

 

Many thanks for listening.

 

Lorna

[CluckyBucks]

Hello Lorna and welcome to the forum

 

It is perfectly normal for the 'pecking order' to be established when they are first starting to get to know eachother. This 'thuggish' behaviour may go on for a few weeks but it should settle down eventually. I would provide extra corn and water so the other two have a better chance of eating before the boss does

 

Your Pepperpot prabaly layed a 'lash' (see the egg section for more infromation.)

It is not unusual for the first few eggs to be quite unusual, so dont worry

 

 

Hope this helps, and again , welcome to the wonderful world of chooks

 

xx xx

[katieD]

hi

 

congratulations on your chickens! do they have the characteristics of young ones? smallish, small combs? if so they have probably just started laying- think yourself lucky some people have weeks of anticipation! make sure you give them some grit (i give the calcium one- oyster shell) as this can help them making better eggs and prevent soft shells- and probably cut out the treats for a little while- so they eat the layers and get all their nutrients from that.

 

as for the bullying- it sounds like they just need to establish a pecking order- are they fighting/drawing blood- or having the odd scuffle?

 

if they are causing injury i would considering seperating her from them- but keeping them next to each other- you could section off the run with garden canes/netting like in one of the other posts- then she can get used to them gradually in the day and then roost together at night- and try again in a week or so by letting them free range together.

 

if they are just having the odd scuffle i would personally leave them to sort it out- and give them another feeding station to prevent miss bossy stopping the others eating etc- this could be why they have soft shells if shes not letting the other feed and therefore they wont be getting enough nutrients.

 

dont let it dishearten you- they will be sorted in no time and then you will be able to start enjoying them!

 

good luck and keep us posted!

[theladdies]

Many thanks for your replies, they are young abt 5 -6 weeks old, i think because was a egg in the basket when they came and was a double yolk and good, and then the pepperpot layed and was weird looking, and was told don't let the chickens eat there eggs all you will have to get rid of them and once they start eating there own eggs you can't keep them, and got in a panic as only took delivery of them yday morning and is all new to me, i have brought grit for them and mixed in there feed but how much do you give a handful in there food or more, i gave them there dry feed with grit in the morning and only one corn on the cob between all 3 teatime, i won't give treats before dry feed as otherwise i know they will fed up on the treats and not eat the grit etc.

 

They are not drawing blood, she's just decided she wants to be boss, will keep eye on her and keep you all updated, but they are amazing to watch, and my 3 girls adore them, my 4 year old wanted to sleep with them lol...

 

Tks foryour replys.

 

 

Hello Lorna and welcome to the forum

 

It is perfectly normal for the 'pecking order' to be established when they are first starting to get to know eachother. This 'thuggish' behaviour may go on for a few weeks but it should settle down eventually. I would provide extra corn and water so the other two have a better chance of eating before the boss does

 

Your Pepperpot prabaly layed a 'lash' (see the egg section for more infromation.)

It is not unusual for the first few eggs to be quite unusual, so dont worry

 

 

Hope this helps, and again , welcome to the wonderful world of chooks

 

xx xx

[teri]

it is quite nerve racking to start with but once your girls settle in and you get used to the routine of feeding, checking, poo picking ect i promise you will really enjoy chicken keeping. stick with it. the forum is always a good place to start if you are unsure about anything, so just ask

[Chook n Boo Mum]

How old did you say they were? 5-6 weeks & they are still chicks, definitely no eggs at that age. Where did they come from, if Omlet they are normally about 20 weeks old, give or take a couple of weeks.

 

They start to lay about 22-25 weeks old & the softie (shell-less) egg would more than likely have been caused by the stress of the journey. I would challenge anybody to get to a softie before the hens have devoured it...they seem to know when one is going to be laid & stand around & wait for it to land in our garden!! It's when they start to peck a fully formed egg to eat it that you get problems...it is sometimes curable, Aint "Ooops, word censored!"ody Here has just broken the habit on her girls I believe.

 

I have a cage cup of grit with oyster shell hanging in each run for the chooks to help themselves to, as they freerange most of the day and have garden soil dustbaths they get most of their grit from elsewhere, but the level does slowly go down from the pots. Some people fling a handful of grit onto the floor of the run for the girls to collect as they scratch about.

 

Sorting out of the pecking order can be quite rough at times, if they draw blood, make sure the wound is at least covered with purple spray to disguise it before the chook is returned to the flock. If it is very bad, bring her in and nurse her back to health, there are threads on this subject to help you, or post your own questions. If it is just one of the girls who is most vicious, put her into "solitary confinement" for a few days, then put her back with the others, this moves her position in the pecking order & can help enormously. If it's unclear who is the instigator, take one out & after a couple of days put her back, then another, then another, this serves to confuse the flock and they often get their pecking order sorted out on a more even keel.

 

As long as they have at least one feeding station each in my flock when integrating, the bully eventually realises that she can't "police" all the pots at the same time, so the others all get a turn at the food, you can adjust your treat feeding accordingly too, if one rushes forwards, make sure you have plenty for the others at the rear. A waterpistol aimed at the bully can also make her think twice about attacking the others too!

 

I hope this makes sense, and isn't too waffly!

 

Good luck with your new girls, we've all been new at some point and believe me no question is a silly question especially if it bothers you!

 

And by the way...where are the photos so we can admire your new girls ?!

 

Sha x

[theladdies]

Tks for replies, the girls are 20 wks old, one layed egg this morning and was perfect presume must have been same girl that layed the other day when they arrived from omlet. Still bossy boots is chasing and pecking, am going to put more food for the other two, i have have let them old and they are fine and follow me the bossy one likes to be picked up and fussed but seems to gets jelous if i fuss one of the others. Will post photos soon as worked out how lol... spent abt 20 mins trying to get them to bed tonight getting better as was 45 mins the other night.