Best liner/ bedding for drop tray

[hunkydoory]

I have a 4 year old Miss Pepperpot (Betty) who has outlived her run mate We have bought 2 lovely point of lay red island reds (Pecky and Cookie). After following all of the advice about introduction Betty remains adament that she wants to kill them. Over 2 weeks on and open ranging together is still a big issue. Any advice??

Pecky Cookie Betty

[Egluntyne]

Might be worth trying a bumper bit on her?

[hunkydoory]

A bumper bit? Sorry not sure what one of those is.

[Egluntyne]

A bumper bit? Sorry not sure what one of those is.

 

Have a dekko **here** .

[Leicester_H]

I have a 4 year old Miss Pepperpot (Betty) who has outlived her run mate We have bought 2 lovely point of lay red island reds (Pecky and Cookie). After following all of the advice about introduction Betty remains adament that she wants to kill them. Over 2 weeks on and open ranging together is still a big issue. Any advice??

Pecky Cookie Betty

 

It's no help, I know, I have STILL have the same problem.

See my posts (and replies)

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51138&sid=8808737348aa30a43cfc8cd779efa50f

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51732&sid=8808737348aa30a43cfc8cd779efa50f

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=56765&sid=8808737348aa30a43cfc8cd779efa50f

 

I had to separate them again recently (after living together for 10 weeks with no problems).

 

H

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I would say that 2 weeks isn't long at all . It took me at least a couple of months before Maisie accepted my two new girls.

 

Do you have them separated? Tricky if you just have an eglu and run, I know .

[hunkydoory]

Thanks. I too have an 'other half' urging me to let them get on with it. I really don't think this is a good idea - I am fairly certian that Betty would kill them. But he's not there to see the feathers fly when Betty goes for it. And boy have they lsot some feathers. Not just with her beak but also knocking them off their feet and then using her feet too.

 

She has also attacked the poor dog this week who is a very unasuming pointer, not a small dog - he looked pretty riddiculous beating a retreat with a squawking chicken on his heels. Then to add insult to injury she went for me when I tried to stop one of her attacks.

 

She is incredibly noisy at the moment too with lots of squarking, it went on until after 11pm one night last week - the same sort of noise they make if they feel threatened. If she doesn't settle soon I might have to consider a permanent solution before the neighbours start to complain.

[hunkydoory]

I have them seperated. First introduction was letting Betty free range around them and I have gradually let them out when she is out. I know that they need to go through some argy bargy. This is my second experience of introducing new comers - first time was nothing like this. The chicken really does seem possessed.

 

She will go and settle herself on the skirt of newbies run when they are in and she is out, so she clearly likes some proximity to other hens but then she turns once the bars aren't there.

Betty is very unpredictable all will seem well and then she just takes off at them across the garden. God help them when she manages to get one in a corner.

 

As I said in an other post her aggressive behaviour hasn't been limited to just the new chicks but also towards the Dog who she has known and has previously had a happy relationship with over the last 4 years. She has also gone for me when I have intervened.

[sandyhas3chucks]

she sounds a tad traumatised by all her changes poor thing!

It has taken me months to integrate some birds and only a few weeks with others.

good luck, but I do really wonder how/why she would be staying awake shouting, that rerally odd(isn't it folks?)

[Patricia W]

Persevere. As Sandy has said, it can take months sometimes as I know. Like you I thought one of my old ones would kill one of the new ones so nasty were the attacks. But in the end, ( July to Feb!) they all suddenly got on.

 

Have you tried feeding them tasty treats alongside the bars? Then Betty may associate something good with being alongside the newbies.

 

Tricia

[Snowy]

I wonder if they all struggle when being introduced to newbies for the first time, once they are set in their ways? I introduced a mature pepperpot (and a gingernut) into my flock of 4. The pepperpot and gingernut had only ever known each other and were two years old. The pepperpot was awful - it took ages for her to settle down and stop attacking the others. She has remained top chicken. That was 3 years ago and since then I have introduced loads of others and she has never been as bad since, in fact she is now a model top chicken and is actually very accepting of newbies

[Clur]

We introduced a lone hen to 3 newbies a few months ago. The main thing is to really take it slowly. We separated the run in half and the newbies lived in a recycling box (!) and had the main bulk of the run, while our lone hen had a small area of run but was allowed to free-range. When they were in the run, they could all see one another but couldn't get through to fight. We started putting grain on each side of the barrier so they were feeding close by. After 2 weeks we let them out to free range together putting down corn so there was some distraction, and after a couple of little digs to sort out the pecking order (our lone hen is now #2), they all get on marvellously. We didn't let them sleep together for another week or two and when we did, we were pleasantly surprised at how well everything went. We were allowing a couple of months for everything to settle and were surprised it didn't take that long. I think it was because we didn't force it and gave them plenty of time to get used to each other - I'd take a step back, start again and be prepared for it to take longer than you might first think. It'll come good in the end!

[hunkydoory]

I think she was quite traumatised by the loss of Blondie, the coring and sqwaking seems to stem from Blondie not being there and Betty searching for her.

 

Its difficult to feel too sorry for her though when you see the state of the new girls

 

We have decided to use a cat carrier based in the shed as an alternative nesting box for Betty and to let her range until such time as she feels a little 'warmer' towards our new girls. The new girls will dwell in the eglu and remain in the run when not on supervised ranging.

 

I know its not ideal to move Betty out of the pod but given the resources we have - it seems the most sensible solution.

 

Happy Easter

[chickyhazel]

When you move her back, if she goes for the new chickens again then squirt her with water so that she associates pecking with bad things like being squirted. It works for us.

[annettec]

We squirted with water too and it worked !

[hunkydoory]

When you move her back, if she goes for the new chickens again then squirt her with water so that she associates pecking with bad things like being squirted. It works for us.

 

 

Thanks. I have tried this when they are ranging together - but she goes for me instead of the new chickens!! I will try it again when she is (eventually back in the eglu with them.