4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Busybird]

Advice needed again please

 

My four girls now free range and sleep together. However, there is still a bit of chasing and pecking when the oldies spot the newbies at a grub (I have one at each end of the 4m run) or if they get too close in the garden. They free range for most of the day but when I shut them all in the run the newbies go straight into the eglu and stay there. This is what worries me.

 

We go on holiday in a few weeks and they will be confined to the run for five days. Obviously the newbies cannot stay in the eglu for five days. Do you think that I need to get ukadex and spray the newbies before we go away or should I just leave them to sort themselves out?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'll be interested in the replies to this . I have much the same scenario as you although having a WIR does make it easier for the wee ones to escape. Egg laying time is dangerous though, as she has a go at them but they aren't willing to leave the eglu .

 

I'm considering a bumper bit for Maisie which I'll test drive this weekend, I think. If that doesn't work, I'm thinking of segregating her for the whole time we're away. Not an option for you, obviously, so Ukadex may well be a good idea.

 

Have you considered bumper bits?

[The Dogmother]

I'd suggest bumper bits, and cut down some evergreen branches and prop them in the corners of your run so that the newbies have somewhere else to hide other than the eglu.

[chelsea]

You could always get some Ukadex just in case (for future pecks). I can see your possible problem but to be honest you can't spray the whole chicken in Ukadex (they would stink and be brown!! ) and your older girls could bully/peck any area.....

 

I think they might be ok if they are living as a group at the moment, do you have more than one grub? If not I would recommend mulitple feeding/grit points around the run, and maybe ask a friend/neighbour to pop in every day when you are away.

 

Might be aswell also to have a "back up plan" with a makeshift house/run just incase something happens when you are away and the newbies have to be removed.

[chelsea]

, and cut down some evergreen branches and prop them in the corners of your run so that the newbies have somewhere else to hide other than the eglu.

 

That's a brilliant idea!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

As well as branches (good idea ) have you got any perches in your run? Shoe racks are ideal for making extra levels which they could jump onto to get away from bullies.

[Busybird]

Thanks for the replies. I have a 4m eglu run so no real corners. I have put my old wooden roosting bars on bamboo canes halfway along to give the newbies something to jump on to. I have a grub and a glug at each end of the run. Not sure where I could put extra foliage

 

When I am away a friend will call in daily to check on the girls but, obviously, I want to do all I can to minimise possible problems. I think I will order the ukadex and try it before I go to see if it disuades the oldies from pecking. The newbies are becoming braver so by the time I go things may have settled but the introductions have been slower than I had hoped.

 

I have an aversion to bumper bits Probably no grounds for it but I'm not sure that I could fit one