A Chicken Consolidation Effort

It is time for the (not so little) chicks to join the rest of the flock in the chicken coop.  It is crazy to think that just three short months ago these little ladies were the size of an egg!

Baby chicks and ducklings back in April in their set up in the mud room.

Everyone is snoozing here.

 The ducklings grew way faster than the chicks so they have been with the adults birds in the coop for over a month now.  We taught the ducklings to swim in the kitchen sink and now they are loving their outdoor pond (aka kiddie sand box filled with water).  They have turned out to be good company for Kate.

Ducklings learning to swim in lukewarm water in the kitchen sink.

How many ducks can fit in the pond at once?  Let's see...

 This week it was time for the baby chicks to follow the ducklings and make the transition into the big coop.  We have found that the best method of relocating chicks from their starter house to the big coop is to do so in the late evening when the adult hens are already roosting.  We then carry the chicks one by one to the big coop and place them on the roosts beside the adult birds.  Hopefully then everyone goes to sleep.  When everyone wakes up in the morning they look around and say, "Hmm...there seem to be new birds here but it doesn't seem to be a big deal." And then everyone just goes about their normal business.

Normal business = eating and pooping.

So far the hen consolidation has gone really well.  There has been a bit of squawking over pecking order which we expected.  In particular the lowest bird in the old pecking order (an Americauna with no bum feathers) has been showing dominant behaviour (e.g. standing up really straight, puffing out her feathers and lunging) with the new chicks since she doesn't want to be at the bottom of the new pecking order too.

I also notice that the big chickens are pecking at Crooky when she tries to eat.  In fairness, Cooky pushes her way into the center of the food saucer with no regard for the fact that there are chickens twice her size already eating.  Hopefully Crooky will learn to wait her turn and then she can eat her fill when the bigger hens are done.  She'll endure much less pecking that way.

I think it is safe to classify this chicken consolidation effort as a success.  We will keep our eye on everyone but so far, so good.