Mastodawn

Previously on 𝘊𝘏𝘐𝘊𝘒𝘚 𝘖𝘍 𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘓𝘐𝘝𝘌𝘚
- Egg-laying Jette pecking the others, asserting her dominance
- Old Henna and Cleo the Runt too weak and scared
- Separating Jette to let the others heal

🐔 It's been a while, so here's another #chicken update!

TL;DR
- Rehomed Jette to a bigger group down the street
- Cleo and Henna were both laying eggs, yay!
- Cleo finally grew up and started to attack Henna
- When we couldn't separate them last weekend, Cleo won the pecking war, and Henna ended up with a bloody comb. Neither of them has laid since, due to the stress.
- PLOT TWIST: We will add four new #hens on Saturday! Hopefully, this will ease the tension for the hens.

👉 More detailed ramblings in the comments.

Photos:
1. My darling Henna last Sunday. The black stuff on her comb is dried blood. I captured her mid-drink, that's why her neck is a bit wet.
2. Jette making first contact in her new group.

#Lachshühner #Faverolles #Huhn #Hühner #chicken #Hennen #hens #Lachshuhn #bird #birds #birdPhotography #birdsOfMastodon #ChickensOfMastodon #BackyardChickens #ChickensOfPixelFed #Birdsday #Birbsday

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~meoralis~

Now here's the plot twist: On Saturday morning, we will get four new hens! 🫣 Our hope is that a larger group will reduce the stress and focus on each other. The new chickens are two different breeds – similar in size and temperament, but without feathered feet. I'll probably introduce them to Henna first, so Cleo has to adapt to a new group dynamic later. If the aggressive pecking continues, Cleo might end up joining her big sister in the chick-eat-chick group down the street. Urgh, I'm so stressed out about this! All I wanted was a few eggs ... 😭😭😭

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RiversideBryan 🏳️‍🌈23h ago

@meoralis 😭 oh my 🥺 hope all works out! And I thought the neighborhood muscovy drama was intense! 😳

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~meoralis~18h ago

@[email protected] Thanks! it must be a bird thing! 😅 Tiny brains, huge drama

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lizzzzard 23h ago

@meoralis I'm curious how this goes. My experience is also that extremely small groups only work with older hens (more than three years) who are not as active anymore. We have three, the neighbors currently have two, and the 5 run together during the day. Sometimes you'll just have to let them peck it out though.

Bonus photo of alpha hen conquering the raised bed fence...

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~meoralis~17h ago

@[email protected] Thanks! I'm curious too. I've got a good feeling about the older hen (she's 2 years old) looking after the young ones, but I'm worried the post-puberty rage hen might really hurt them. I'm all for letting them sort it out themselves, but if blood is drawn, I need to separate them before it gets dangerous. We lost a hen already in early January because we didn't notice her injuries in time. 😞 Fingers crossed it goes more smoothly in a group of 6.
What an adventurous hen you've got there! 😀👏