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MrsDaisy

erm help? please!

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Hi

 

We have two chickens, one i believe was an omlet original, the second was a replacement for one of the original pair who disappeared. Florence (oldie) is quite sweet and Ermintrude is a stroppy lady, very much the boss.

 

our set up is eglu, run, with the run open and all in a huge area of garden with omlet netting around. they freerange in this area all through the day.

 

We got 3 pekin bantams today, girlies and between 10-12 weeks. they are adorable however on putting them in the run Ermintrude kept intentionally running at high speed and pecking them. making them fly up into the air with the force. they also escaped through the bantam proof netting

 

now obviously the pekins are teeny and we don't want them hurt. noise levels have also gone up hugely. the original girlies don't shush. we've separated them overnight but long term plan was for them all together.

 

what to do?

 

-sob-

 

I am a softie but i really feel that the pekins are getting hurt.

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two things i've never heard of! have two feeding places, would they be sold in regular pet food/ animal supplies shops?

 

My husband is happy to build another run and house for the pekins, but i'd ideally like the big meanies to stop pecking/ picking on the little ones and then all in together.

 

thank you for replying x

 

pekins are currently asleep in a separate house to the eglu.

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we have 3 feeding stations and it has alleviated most of the agro that we were having as Maud (the marauder) can't stop little Shalott from getting to ALL of them at the same time. Some sweetcorn scattered around helped a lot too. Took Maud's mind off being a bully and helped them get used to eating together- worked for me anyway.

 

Good luck, hope you get it sorted soon, they sound really cute!

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they are gorgeous. we tried corn on the floor and they'd eat somewhere near each other. then when Erm stopped being entertained by food she started doing her running charges again. poor little bantie babies.

 

if we did set up a second run should they be in sight or different areas of the garden? either is possible.

 

thanks again.

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If you intend to separate them for the time being and then re-integrate them the runs need to be close so they can see each other.

 

Bumper bits or anti peck rings fit into the beck and stop the hen from closing its beak fully to prevent feather pulling but the hen can still eat and drink as usual - they prevent damage from being done. You can get them from the Domestic Fowl Trust.

 

Anti peck spray can be bought from most pet shops

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I got a single Poland on Monday, she's tiny probably only about 10 weeks. I kept them apart all week except at night when I put her in the Cube. The big girls were able to see the Poland and wander around the outside of her run.

 

Today I let the Poland out to freerange with the others and initially there were a couple of charges at her but it very quickly died down and everytime I looked everything was peaceful. I think I'll keep her in the seperate run for a few more days and only let her out when I know I'm going to be around.

 

I think a slow intro is the key.

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Personally I think your bantam babies might be a bit small at 10 - 12 weeks old to go in with the big hens straight away :? I bought 2 new large hens at that age and kept them apart but within sight for a few weeks. I started introducing them gradually once the babies were big enough and fast enough to get out of the way. Your banties will never be as big as the original girls and serious damage could be done if you aren't careful with the intros. If you take it slowly and carefully, they should get along eventually.

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I've only been to a couple of chicken places, but they do have all kinds of breeds running round together, large and small. But often they will all have been incubated together, or bought in and put together at an early age. So, for them it would be correct to say they will all live happily together.

 

Personally, I've found that the chooks who have been on their own the longest (ie a pair from omlet) tend to be most resistent to any new introductions. It's what they are used to I suppose. Don't give up though - my two oldest had been on their own for 2 years and were really horrid at first. Now they are in a bigger group, new introductions are much less painful! :D

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i think you definatley need to seperate them for a little while to let the bantams get their bearings and to allow the other to get used to them (seperate them for about a week, but make sure they can see each other and make sure they both have food and water. put them all in the eglu at night together and see how it goes! and before you know it they will be best of friends :D:D:D:D

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seperate them for sleeping for a while. And also when they are confined to the run - keep them seperate.

 

We introduced some young cochins to our big girls a while ago. We let the big girls out free ranging whilst the small ones were in and then kept swapping them around so they all got used to each other. After about a week we then let them out altogether to free range (with supervision) and then eventually they all free range together very happily.

 

We still keep them in seperate eglu runs (when we go out) and they sleep in different eglus.

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