3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[jackthelad]

This is my first intro and it was going so well but....

 

As some people will have seen I collected a polish frizzle just over a week ago, I split my WIR with a makeshift fence and put my other polish in with her so 2 on either side of the fence, this went well so on saturday due to the nice weather free ranged them in the garden together this went well with only a few scuffles from both other hens. As this went well I put them all in the eglu together for the night and split them in the morning and again due to good weather let them free range all day. Frizzle did have a peck to her wing so covered in purple spray.

 

We removed temp fence as all had gone well.

 

This morning let them out altogether in WIR, everything seemed ok just a few scuffles but just come home from shopping and poor frizzle is terrified of my silkie she keeps having a go chasing and pecking and now she has 3 pecks to her body and wing. Top cook the blubelle isn't bothering her at all.

 

Poor frizzle is now chamois coloured with purple and brown patches (anti peck spray). She is also short of feathers on her back and top of her wing due to a randy cockerel so not much padding when pecked.

 

Ive thrown the silkie in the garden in the rain just to give frizzle a break and the other three of them are fine together in the WIR.

 

Not sure what to do now for the best, confine poor frizzle or silkie for parts of the day or what, if the sun was shining they could be out in garden but its pouring down and I don't want frizzle wounded/frightened too much. Please give me your thoughts

 

Thanks

[Falkor]

Sorry to here things are not going so well.

 

Personally I think the Frizzle should be seperated from the others and given time to heal and aclimatise to her new life. If I remember correctly when you got her she was already a bit bare because the boys took a special interest in her? The bare flesh may have been attractive to your other chooks and caused them to peck maybe?

 

Click here for super advice on introductions.

 

I would take them extra slow because she is a lone chook. Plus she is a lone chook who can't see very well because of the hairdo so she is an easy target.

 

I introduced my Polish on her own, I rehomed her as she was being picked on by her other run mates. I kept her in her own run within the bantam run until she was completely refeathered and then did a couple weeks of supervised free ranging for about an hour a day, then she moved herself into the cube.

Polly, my polish wanders around in a world of her own and gets the odd head butt every now and then because she has tripped over one of the japanese girls

[Egluntyne]

I'd put the bully on her own on the other side of the bamboo canes if the victim is getting on OK with all the others. Leave her there for a few days so that the victim can recover, and a bit of team building can take place.

 

Successful intros normally take about 3 weeks.

[Leicester_H]

Successful intros normally take about 3 weeks.

 

I would re-word that to say 'Successful intros normally take AT LEAST 3 weeks (no offence to Egluntyne)

- and can take considerably longer !

Some things have a natural time scale and simply can't be rushed.

 

H

[Carol U]

Each of my intros has taken 10 days - I kept a diary of each for future reference of 'what worked'. One of my old girls was a dreadful bully, but I found that by putting some branches in the run, so that the newbies could fly up and escape, they settled down quite quickly. The newbies would swoop down and grab food or treats and be back up again before the bully noticed. As time went on, they spent more and more time down with the others before being pecked. Another thing which seemed to work for me was keeping a spray bottle full of water by the run and squirting the bully each time she attacked. Hope this is helpful.

 

Good luck with it!

[Patricia W]

I think I hold the world record for the longest introduction! It took me from July to February to integrate 2 Polands into my existing trio of Polands. This was perhaps excessive but a week is no time at all as the others say so I'd take a step back.

 

I'd be inclined to choose a friend for her ( either another newbie or the " nicest" one you have, and then separate the 2 so they are in sight but not in contact with the others. Then let them free range together for increasingly longer periods of time, but always supervised.

 

Also remember, that Polands have restricted eyesight with their large hair-do's so really can only see down and ahead. Great, if you want to be able to pick them up easily, but it does make them an easy target for the bully. Frizzles can't fly out of the way either.

 

Hope that helps

 

Tricia

[chelsea]

I'd put the bully on her own on the other side of the bamboo canes if the victim is getting on OK with all the others. Leave her there for a few days so that the victim can recover, and a bit of team building can take place.

 

 

Good suggestion from Egluntyne.

 

It took me 12 weeks to introduce(and I thought that was long!) so Patricia you may well be the record holder!

[jackthelad]

Thanks for your replys I feel much better now yesterday felt sorry for frizzle and a bad chicken mummy , today feel more positive.

 

Ive currently temp fenced the silkie on her own for the day, the other three are together and they are getting on fine at least the frizzle can get to know the WIR and learn were the ramp and eglu are.

 

If it ever stops raining I will continue to free range in the garden supervised with water spray on hand.

 

If its going to take a long time she will be fine with my other polish and the silkie and blubelle can stay together and I will leave up the fence and they will have to have a cat box for their home for now.

 

Luckily for frizzle she can see at the moment as she hasn't got a full long pom pom on her head, unlike my other polish who really has no idea what is going on in the world unless you shake the meal worm tub and she is easily able to locate that!!!

[jackthelad]

Well its 3 weeks this Sunday since Matilda arrived and I think we have cracked it

 

Every morning before work ive been up as its become day light to take Matilda out of the eglu and seperate Lily with the temp fencing. When ive got home ive let them all out in the garden when the weather has been dry.

 

For the last 3 days they have been let in the WIR all together in the morning and left a little longer each day, my dear OH has kept his eye on them and then seperated them when he has had to go to work.

 

Today they have been together all day in the WIR and no pecks seen on Matilda they seem to be a family together. What a stressful 3 weeks but worth it.

 

Nasty Lily has has become a good girl and they've even printed her picture in the Gallery in the Practical Poultry Magazine so we now love her again!