Advice please

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ails505

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Advice please
« on: June 05, 2011, 11:13 »
Hi I am new to this forum but I am hoping someone can give me advice please?
To give some background -my husband bought me 4 hens as a present and although one died soon after arrival, the remaining 3 have been happy and healthy for the last year.They live in a large wooden hut with a good size run and at least once a week they are given the run of the garden. Without warning one of the hens died on Thursday night but the remaining 2 are ok. I would like to get another 2 chickens but have been told if we introduce newcomers they will fight. Is this true? What advice would you give? Many thanks

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Kleftiwallah

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2011, 11:17 »

If they were ex battery chickens - maybe they needed recharging !  ::)  Welcome to the forum and hand me my coat !  :D  Cheers,   Tony.
I may be growing OLD, but I refuse to grow UP !

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joyfull

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2011, 15:59 »
yes they will fight - they have to establish the order of hierarchy. Also when getting new hens you should keep them separate for a couple of weeks to make sure they aren't bringing in any infections.
Staffies are softer than you think.

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VickyW

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2011, 16:48 »
yes they will fight - they have to establish the order of hierarchy. Also when getting new hens you should keep them separate for a couple of weeks to make sure they aren't bringing in any infections.

I can understand the seperation, its the same on a smaller scale for fish, though getting another tank isn't such a biggie, where on earth do you put quarentined hens though? I certainly won't have a spare coop, though I suppose I could halve the run temporarily

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joyfull

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2011, 16:53 »
I have several coops so not an issue with me, if you have a large covered cat/dog pet carrier this would suffice as a temporary house but their run should also be separate so that any infections cant pass from one to another (remember infections have an incubation period in birds like it does in humans) and then after a couple of weeks you move them closer to each other.
You could of course not bother with this and put them together to just let them fight it out and in a couple of weeks it should be calm but be very observant for any illnesses that may break out.

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bantam novice

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2011, 17:48 »
Hello Ails505 and welcome to the forum  :)
I totally agree with what Joyfull says here and I just wanted to wish you luck with your new girls.  We love pictures here if you can post some  :D
11 bantams (and counting!) 2 dogs 1 cat

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jinty1911

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2011, 19:49 »
I used an old rabbit hutch and some chicken wire.  They did very well for a couple of weeks.

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Beano

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2011, 08:50 »
My husband made a temporary coop out of an old kitchen unit and the run is in two sections anyway. We have kept the "temporary" coop now for the next batch.
Obviously the kitchen unit is not waterproof but he put a big plastic sheet on it as a lid and it has worked well.
El.

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Dominic

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2011, 11:09 »
Hens will fight.
My 4 were together from hatching, are now about 12 wks old, and are, squaring up to each other, quite a lot now, even when free ranging.
No fighting yet, but theres a definite, this is my bit of grass vibe every now and again.
We use chemicals in this garden, just as god intended

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joyfull

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2011, 11:19 »
some of mine are only 4 weeks old and they are chest barging each other at the moment  :lol:

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bantam novice

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Re: Advice please
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2011, 14:37 »
mine too at six weeks  :D



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