Re: advice on re-forming flocks?

"Farm1" <please@askifyouwannaknow> wrote in message
news:459e413f$0$19979$5a62ac22@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"0tterbot" <spl@xxxxx> wrote in message
"Farm1" <please@askifyouwannaknow> wrote in message

or should i just throw the whole lot in
together, even?

No to the latter IMHO - the picked on, stay picked on. Sometimes
it
works to remove the picked on ones entirely and get them
refeathered
and bigger and healthier but not always.

hm, shame. do you mean my unfortunate hens would probably just be
picked on
by the little isas instead of the big ones?

Sorry, I realise now what I wrote was not clear - I wouldn't bung them
all together because the picked on ones will stay at the bottom of the
dung heap as the others see what the other hens do to the picked on
ones.

i see. that makes sense.

They may be able to assert themselves if they go into a new
mob. They may not either and especially if they look like they've
been picked on ie featherless and ready to take to their heels at the
first sign of picking - that sort of behaviour makes them the eternal
victim - a bit like people really.

isn't it true. even i (their loving protector) find the lowest couple of
hens in the order irritating in the way they run away screaming from
everything (even me).

even if they did just get picked
on by others instead, is it a good idea anyway? or in your opinion
is it as
well if they stay with their pre-existing flock because there's
probably not
going to be any benefit to anyone?

I'd try putting them with the Isa Browns - what have you (or the
picked on ones) got to lose? It may or may not work, but try to get
the picked on ones looking good and eyeballing the Isa Browns before
you put them together. More pens to build perhaps???? Try to keep
the same number introduced as the flock your introducing them to (and
the introducees the same colour too if you can - my birds have always
seemed to be colour sensitive - sound silly but that's what I've
observed).

thanks for the tips! handily, the two chook runs are side-by-side, so
they've all had a chance to get to know each other. (fortunately, the babies
don't emulate the biggies' behaviour at all, except that they do seem to
enjoy running up & down together when the big girls decide it's time for a
jog ;-)

on a side note, my wee babies are now laying!!! (well, two of them are).
today i found two tiny eggs in a little nest they'd made on the ground! (why
they didn't lay them in their house i'm not sure, but then, they don't like
roosting, either. perhaps they are non-conformists? ;-) i was not expecting
this for weeks!!
kylie who is now in a mad rush to build a nesting box onto their little
house


.

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