Diana1 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 At the moment - day two, the new hens Pirate II and Speckledy Rose are roosting with Angel (original omlet hen - happens to be very bossy - fitted with a bumper bit). I let Angel out to roam freely but keep the new ones in. How long should I keep them in the eglu? I remember when my elgu was first delivered they said to keep them in the eglu so that they got to know where to roost for 3 days. is that right? Also in the morning they are so afraid they won't come out of the 'bedroom' even when Angel has been let out. So I am gently pushing them out and closing the bedroom door. That way they can eat and drink and see that bossy Angel can't get them. I have the eglu, eglu run and that lives in a netted area and then I have the rest of the garden. Angel has the whole garden. I could bring her into closer contact so that she gets to eyeball the news one a bit more. Then when I let the new ones out I could always let Angel have the garden. The thread on introducing new chickens is 11 pages long and I will get round to reading it but in the meantime I would like some thoughts on whether I'm doing the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Hi, You are doing everything right, don't worry! I would give it a couple more days before you let them all go together full-time,& you can make this an easier process by feeding them scattered food on the ground to start with.They will be so busy eating the corn that they will forget to be mean to each other! There will rpobably be some s"Ooops, word censored!"ping & a few stand offs when they all go togather, but this is just chicken nature & is to be expected. By doing a slower intro you are making it smoother, but don't be suprised if there is still a bit of fighteing as they establish dominance Now.......PHOTOS,PLEASE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 can't get a good photo when they are in the eglu under the winter shade - just as soon as I can there will be photos - can't wait to share their beauty - although they are not show birds or like those lace ones - they are just kind of normal but i already love them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I'm sure I read 5 days in the omlet run originally. We let our new girls in our larger pen straight away, however after trying to escape we shut Megan on her own in the run for 1-2 days and she now doesn't try to escape anymore. All the girls have half the garden fenced off with chicken wire to run round in which gives lots of room for running away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I had 4 newbies together at the same time when I got my eglu. I kept them in for the recommended 5 days, but they were very aggresive with each other - I had to divide the run in 2. Once they were all out in the garden, they got on much better. They very quickly established who was boss with little or no physical violence! I think it helped that they could get out of each others way quicker. They also seemed fine at night in the eglu. It was only when confined to the run that things got more physical. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 Yes it does help - thanks. Hopefully I will summon up enough confidence to clip their wings tomorrow. I will get Erik to take photos while I'm handling them outside of eglu. Bit worried - Speckledy Rose seems to be doing runny yellow poo's - not unlike egg yolk. I'm putting it down to all the excitement and change. It could be to do with her egg-making mechanism developing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Mine did that for a while, and do still occasionally! See post on Yellow Poo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 Well they've had their first day out all be it a very wet day. In the past Angel and Pirate (rip) would shelter together in the eglu when it rained. As the new ones haven't really got their act together it seemed like a competition to see who could get the wettest. They are all safely gathered in now. Speckledy Rose lost her way to roost and I found her in the corner of the garden, pecking the fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 It is day six since the new girls joined us to replace Pirate 1. The way things are going I'm finding it hard to believe that they will ever be friends and roam around together. We have after all bought the new ones to keep Angel company. Angel seems to be a vicous bully. Angel pecked Pirate 1's feathers so that she was bald from crop to vent,hence the bumper bit. Pirate died of impacted crop on New Year's Eve. Her feathers were just showing signs of recovery as well, poor love Anyway I cleaned the eglu the other day to find loads of feathers from our new girls. I reckon Angel can still cause a bit of mischief despite the bumper bit. I caught sight of her standing on top of Speckledy Rose in the eglu run. Somehow the bedroom door had been closed and Pirate II was shut in. I am now keeping the new girls separated from Angel, allowing them access to the eglu for half a day to enable feeding and drinking to take place. Can't imagine them sharing the nesting box when they come into lay. I've heard of pedigree cattle breeders taking animals which show unmanageable characterists, to the slaughter. Don't forget that Angel pecked me in my eye in the first month of her arrival with us. I had to seek treatment at the hospital. Angel is a good layer - I shall defintely give it more time for them to adjust to each other. Once they establish who's boss there should be no bullying. It seems that Angel just likes to keep pointing out that she is the best pecker. I'll now try again to post some photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 The picture didn't show up on screen but I put the http in the toolbar and the chook looks georgeous. Very ginger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Oh dear Diana, sounds like Angel is a bit of a terror! I know that people warned me it would look bad when they sorting themselves out, and boy did it! They were awful! Fizz had a peck at me and someone (Fizz again I think) ripped off part of Pom's ear!! But it did settle down very quickly and you'd now never guess that they have ever been anything but best buddies. But Angel sounds a bit more persistent. Would it be worth keeping her away from them for a few days? ie away from the eglu - that way they would be boss when she returns? I do hope you find a solution soon - for your own sanity as much as anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 Thanks Martin - I'm trying to put up pictures of my new girls too but it doesn't seem to show despite me following instructions. Have a look at these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 testing link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 Whoopee so that one on the previous post is the barnevelder - Pirate and this one is Speckledy Rose the speckled sussex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 (edited) Speckeldy rose above! Edited January 8, 2007 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Whoa - that worked OK! I clicked on the actual picture so that it enlarges, then right click on the IMG bar on the right and copy and paste into post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Beautiful Birds Diana! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Barnevelder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 The ginger one is Angel - misnamed if ever. Thanks awfully for getting the pictures to show. I can't keep up with you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I agree, gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Diana, your new girls are gorgeous! They look very young, but what beautiful feathers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana1 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 Thanks Linda, Martin and Snowy Howells. Your comments and help have made me all happy again to be a chicken keeper after all this business with pecky Angel. The are gorgeous. I love them, I love them, I love them. The new girls are about 18 weeks old - hatched late September? They are supposedly at point of lay and as the daylight increases so should the likelihood of eggs. However their combs and wattles seem very young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 When my two s arrived, one had wattles and comb very like your two (they arrived 25th November) and the other's was much more developed. Florrie with the comb started to lay after only 2 weeks with us, but Pom still hasn't started, and I've only just noticed today that she has tiny new wattles growing and her teeny comb was flushing up nicely. So there must be a few weeks age difference between mine. They look a bit fierce don't they with no combs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
