# Chicken question



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Can I put baby chicks in with my existing hens or will they kill/pick on them? How do I introduce baby chicks into the existing flock?


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## jeager106 (Mar 24, 2017)

tsrwivey said:


> Can I put baby chicks in with my existing hens or will they kill/pick on them? How do I introduce baby chicks into the existing flock?


Keep them separate till chicks are bigger and won't be pecked to death.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I have to agree. Once the babies are close to the same size as the hens you"ll be safe to introduce them.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I thought this was gonna be a "cross the road" joke .

My brother always lets his chicks get big before he puts them in with the others.


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Speaking of which....This is on our Bantam coup:


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

How do you keep the chickens off the vehicles, porches, & gates? Our ladies were free ranging but despite having 20 acres at their disposal, they prefer to hang out on the porch & try to get into the house. Their favorite evening perch is on my Toyota, scratching up the paint & pooping on the hood. We built a fenced in area, they got out. I put bird netting over the fence, they got out & pooped on the netting. Would clipping their wings work? Is it hard? Can you hurt them while clipping their wings? How often does it need to be done? Is there a better way of keeping them contained? Thanks yall!


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

tsrwivey said:


> ? Is there a better way of keeping them contained? Thanks yall!


Keeping in mind I know not much about chickens. One way to keep them contained is to eat them. Works for me lol


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

I put my latest chicks in with the big birds at four weeks.
Everything is just fine.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I coop and run trained ours. I would keep them in the run for a few weeks before letting them free range. Feed all treats in the run. When feeding treats place in a metal can and shake to rattle. They well associate the rattle with treats and run to the run.


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Caribou said:


> All you need to do is to trim the flight feathers. Take care not to trim them too close or the bird can bleed out. Have some styptic close at hand. If they shed those flight feathers and grow new ones you need to do it again.
> 
> I don't know squat about chickens but that is the way it works with parrots.


Have you taught the Parrot to make refrigerator runs? Either big parrot or small cans.


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

tsrwivey said:


> Can I put baby chicks in with my existing hens or will they kill/pick on them? How do I introduce baby chicks into the existing flock?


I always keep peeps in a separate pen until they about 45 days old. At that point they are large enough to recover from pecking injuries. Most importantly they are quick enough to avoid older hens. They will be harassed by old chickens. Chickens are basically bloody little dinosaurs.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

I always raise my chicks inside under a heat lamp until they get all their feathers in. Then I put them with the flock. If they have enough room to move around, they'll be okay, because the chicks can run faster than the big hens.

As far as free-ranging, we always keep the chickens in for several weeks until they're accustomed to their coop, then start letting them out for a few hours in the late afternoon every day, after most of the hens have laid their eggs.

If you've got a flock of chickens that already think they "rule the roost," and you don't think they can change their ways, just sell them or eat them and start over with a fresh batch.


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Only trim one wing of their flight feathers. Makes them crooked and they cant fly.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

*Chickens.....*

OK, admittedly I know next to nothing about chickens, other than they come all packaged up nice and neat at Wally World. WHY do the BIG chickens (apparently) wanna peck the "babies" to death? What about way back when, when the chickens just ran free around the yard/farm and had little chicks all over creation.....I don't recall Grandma telling any war stories about chicken mayhem......just asking....:scratch:dunno:


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Pessimistic2 said:


> OK, admittedly I know next to nothing about chickens, other than they come all packaged up nice and neat at Wally World. WHY do the BIG chickens (apparently) wanna peck the "babies" to death? What about way back when, when the chickens just ran free around the yard/farm and had little chicks all over creation.....I don't recall Grandma telling any war stories about chicken mayhem......just asking....:scratch:dunno:


A mama hen will protect her own chicks but kill any that are not her own (there are ways to get a mama to accept chicks that she did not hatch but that is another post.). When you have chicks from the feed store or hatchery there is no mama to protect them.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

Grimm said:


> A mama hen will protect her own chicks but kill any that are not her own (there are ways to get a mama to accept chicks that she did not hatch but that is another post.). When you have chicks from the feed store or hatchery there is no mama to protect them.


Ahhhh, OK, got it! Thanks. Since chickens will be part of the Retreat stock, this is good to know! :thankyou:


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Pessimistic2 said:


> Ahhhh, OK, got it! Thanks. Since chickens will be part of the Retreat stock, this is good to know! :thankyou:


I think raising the fish is going to be a lot simpler. Aquaponics --- Fresh fish, fresh vegetables, closed loop system. Veg waste -- worm farm -- worm to fish food --- fish poop --- veg food --- harvest, start cycle again.

Easier to catch contained fish, loose chickens another story.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Pessimistic2 said:


> Ahhhh, OK, got it! Thanks. Since chickens will be part of the Retreat stock, this is good to know! :thankyou:


Sometimes you'll have a pair of hens that take turns sitting on the same eggs and raise the chicks together. It is cute to watch and helps when the chicks grow up with 2 hens protecting them.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Pessimistic2 said:


> ...WHY do the BIG chickens (apparently) wanna peck the "babies" to death? ...


Just like the new employee at work gets all the rotten jobs the Veterans don't want to do. Seniority or in the case of chickens it's called Pecking Order.

Since chickens don't gossip or back-stab, that leaves their only option of outright murder as the means to maintain their Pecking Order.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Cotton said:


> I always keep peeps in a separate pen until they about 45 days old. At that point they are large enough to recover from pecking injuries. Most importantly they are quick enough to avoid older hens. They will be harassed by old chickens.* Chickens are basically bloody little dinosaurs. *


*

*Everything loves chicken. Even chickens.....


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

terri9630 said:


> [/B]Everything loves chicken. Even chickens.....


I'll have to dig out the video of a chicken eating a drumstick.


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

Grimm said:


> I'll have to dig out the video of a chicken eating a drumstick.


With respect I've seen it happen in an adult flock. A chicken gets a cut, starts to bleed. The rest of the chickens won't stop pecking at the blood! Several times I separated the injured hen for several days until she healed completely. I learned the hard way if I didn't she'd be dead in 24hrs. Chickens are bloody little monsters, especially aggressive breeds like RIR's.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Chickens eating fried chicken


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## SewingMachine (Mar 26, 2017)

Huh. I had Araucana's, Reds, and Egyptians all mixed up. Got 30 for the first batch, and just let them out the coop when they were about the size of robins. They wouldn't go far. When they got bigger, I tried the trim one wing thing, but it was a hassle. They had a fenced in yard, but they flew out all the time, and ranged all over 10 acres. Lost a few to a fox or something. Never had a problem with them getting on vehicles, that were sitting right there (coop attached to the garage).

Once they started hatching chicks, I never had a problem with any of them getting killed, and they just ran around with all the other chickens. I had a really good egyptian rooster though, he really kept everyone in line. Maybe thats why? I culled mean roosters, and kept it to 1 rooster for every 8 hens, or tried to. Sometimes one rooster would just scrape 3 or 4 hens off the flock, and make his own little harem.

But no, never any chick killing. Ever.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

SewingMachine said:


> Huh. I had Araucana's, Reds, and Egyptians all mixed up. Got 30 for the first batch, and just let them out the coop when they were about the size of robins. They wouldn't go far. When they got bigger, I tried the trim one wing thing, but it was a hassle. They had a fenced in yard, but they flew out all the time, and ranged all over 10 acres. Lost a few to a fox or something. Never had a problem with them getting on vehicles, that were sitting right there (coop attached to the garage).
> 
> Once they started hatching chicks, I never had a problem with any of them getting killed, and they just ran around with all the other chickens. I had a really good egyptian rooster though, he really kept everyone in line. Maybe thats why? I culled mean roosters, and kept it to 1 rooster for every 8 hens, or tried to. Sometimes one rooster would just scrape 3 or 4 hens off the flock, and make his own little harem.
> 
> But no, never any chick killing. Ever.


Its because _they _were hatching chicks. They protect their chicks. Chicks from the incubator/store don't have a momma to protect them.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

terri9630 said:


> Its because _they _were hatching chicks. They protect their chicks. Chicks from the incubator/store don't have a momma to protect them.


Terri,

Yup. This is the truth. Was my comment about this not clear? I know sometimes I have problems with delivering the message so everyone understands it.


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Chickens are probably the easiest way to quickly become self sufficient.
They can be raised in a relatively small area, even in a suburban back yard. They will feed themselves if there is a bit of space to free range. They are very easy to raise, they are friendly and non threatening to family members for the most part. They will provide you with food on a daily basis and can be raised by pretty much anyone.

Here is a site that will show you the basics.
http://abundantpermaculture.com/


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

My theory on chickens is to buy in bulk.
You want eight or a dozen, buy 25 chicks.
Most will live, some won't.

Throw them all together and let nature take its course.
Cull most of the roosters, only leaving one or two of the best. Cook them up, or send them to freezer camp.

Same with the hens. Keep the best, 86 the rest.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Grimm said:


> Terri,
> 
> Yup. This is the truth. Was my comment about this not clear? I know sometimes I have problems with delivering the message so everyone understands it.


It was clear to me.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

bbqjoe said:


> I put my latest chicks in with the big birds at four weeks.
> Everything is just fine.


 We do too, hens never touched them.

We like Barred Rocks or Dominique they are dual birds. Also the mildest mannered we have tried and we tried them all far as laying hens go.


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

Meerkat said:


> We do too, hens never touched them.
> 
> We like Barred Rocks or Dominique they are dual birds. Also the mildest mannered we have tried and we tried them all far as laying hens go.


Well, when it comes to grub, the pecking order is being laid down, but nothing violent.
The guy I got the older birds (RIR's) from, said the folks in charge are trying to breed broodiness out of chickens. Yes, another one of man's manipulations to suit his needs. If this continues, chickens will no longer know how to hatch out an egg, and raise their young. Just stupid.

My RIR's have never gone broody and sat a bunch out. This last round I ordered from Mcmurray. I told the lady there that I needed a bird that could handle the AZ heat, as well as go to sitting. She suggested the Buff Orpington.

It is my hope that they will be regenerative.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

I bought chicks from Privett Hatchery last year at this time -- some Cuckoo Marans and Barnevelders for me and some Dominiques for my son. I sold the Marans, both to trim the flock down to a manageable size and to get some money to buy hay. The Barnevelders are very docile and quiet, and I now have one hen setting some eggs!

I have bought from Privett before, and have always been more than pleased with them.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

bbqjoe said:


> Well, when it comes to grub, the pecking order is being laid down, but nothing violent.
> The guy I got the older birds (RIR's) from, said the folks in charge are trying to breed broodiness out of chickens. Yes, another one of man's manipulations to suit his needs. If this continues, chickens will no longer know how to hatch out an egg, and raise their young. Just stupid.
> 
> My RIR's have never gone broody and sat a bunch out. This last round I ordered from Mcmurray. I told the lady there that I needed a bird that could handle the AZ heat, as well as go to sitting. She suggested the Buff Orpington.
> ...


The buff's I had did so so in the heat. Didn't lay worth a darn. I have California whites now and they do extremely well in the heat and are very good layers. I've had 2 (out of 30) go broody and raise chicks. That's why I bought the incubator. We also had some Red Rangers that made wonderful meat birds. They couldn't take the heat though and were OK layers until it got hot. We rarely got an egg out of them between April and Oct. They kept us in eggs all winter though. I use Whelp hatchery.


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