Hi all, I'm a newbie here, from the Gold Coast, and have been having a ball reading through all the wealth of info on this great forum. I think I could sit here and learn for a year solid before actually starting anything, but that wouldn't be very productive, so we've started in our little corner of the world with a 15 x 3m vege patch and a handful of day old chicks. I have searched and googled but cannot find the info that I need, so am hoping someone here might point me in the right direction. Our 7 chicks are now 5-6 weeks old and we have just acquired a 5 month old hen who needed a home. We have the 7 in a large run/house at the moment, and the older hen in a separate pen next to that. Obviously there are massive differences in size and we suspect two of the 7 are roosters. What I would like to know is, how and when do we put them in together? Do we need to wait until the 7 are bigger, do we put 2 in with the older one and into a foreign environment... or are we dreaming? :lol: Thanks for reading, and any help you can offer! Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, I don't think you'll have any problems with the chooks, with those small numbers the hen will assert dominance over the flock, and that will be it. If the pens are small, chooks can get unpleasant, b ut usually only at high densities, and when food is scarce, and that is where the problems come in. Tezza is the man to ask! He has lots of chookie experience. Nice to meet you! Christopher
I don't really knoe, what I leart with our chooks: never introduce a single and never introduce one of a different breed (at least two). Perhaps you make a try at the time when you let your chooks out. You have to watch that the new one get enough to eat. We bought point of layer and they can be quite nasty (for example with poor baby brush turkeys)
G'day Carolyn, welcome to the forum and good on you for having a go in your yard. The Gold Coast can use all the Permaculturalists it can get! I would echo Christophers and Hedwigs thoughts that you will probably be alright depending on density and availability of resources. Making available multiple waters and making feed abundantly available, at least for the transition period might help. My better half has a theory that a good rooster helps keep the girls in order. We had one rooster until the neighbourhood dogs got him that was really good for keeping his girls in order and assimilating chooks of all ages and breeds into his flock. Other roosters just don't get it and will lead the victimisation it seems. Tezza mate, what do you reckon?
Carolyn, welcome! Chooks are fantastic. Should be more of them in backyards, I reckon. First up, it's good that you've kept your new arrival separate from the present crowd as you want to make sure your new arrival hasn't brought any nasties with her Young chickens are quickly wiped out by a number of yucko germs carried around by older chooks. You haven't stated what sort of breeds you have (for example, Araucanas can be bitchy little things) but after you've done your little quarantine number, by all means introduce them under supervision. The pecking order is a curious thing: sometimes what you expect to happen, doesn't. A friend of mine recently introduced young bantams to two Rhode Island reds. The bantams had the run of the place in less than two days. Keep up the supervision initially, introducing food at the same time you introduce the flock to your new arrival. You may find that the chickens take to each other quite well. If they don't, separate them for a while then attempt to introduce them again. Do expect some abrupt behaviour: this is normal, is part of the pecking order process and is unlike sustained aggression which is a different thing again. As for suspecting your young ones are roosters, there's no point in suspecting or attempting to sex until point of lay which will happen in about ten weeks for your littlies. Hens can also show traits attributed to roosters such as aggression and crowing whereas young cockerels can keep quiet until one day Harriet suddenly starts announcing that he's very much a Harry..... ........at 4 o'clock in the morning. And that'll keep you from dreaming!
Thanks people, I appreciate the input! No, we're not allowed roosters but we got these 7 as day old chicks, and I have a friend who is happy to take (eat) them if they are roosters! I'll let you know how they go.
Well we introduced the 7 littlies and the alleged hen and they quickly sorted out their differences and all was lovely and calm for 3 or 4 days until.... 'she' started crowing!!! LMAO we are so new to this chook thing that we didn't even know 'she' was a rooster! So we have a new problem to deal with, ha ha. :lol: [crawls back into the 'idiot' corner!]
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Well you beet me to it....Its ok to have mixed ages together as long as the youngest are able to keep warm,and or find shelter from any bullies.. yeah hens for one day then rooster next day story of my life too..and i been breeding em for 15 years... some breeds just dont show untill maturity or the first cock a doodle doo Tezza
hehee well ok I'll stick get dickhead of the week award though I reckon! :lol: Tell ya what though, whoever had the idea for growing parrot seed for the chooks is just brilliant - I raked a load of homebrand seed into about a square metre patch of dirt a week ago and it's already a good 10cm high so I let them have a go at it today, and they were clearly in little chook heaven! So thanks for the great idea!