Last night we decided to put the girls together for an hour before bedtime. The bantys came out of their gate and Bluebell immediately took a peck at them. Amber ran into the coop and Honey ran behind the bush. The big girls then saw the area inside the bantys gate that I had dug over and they all filed in for a good scratch. Amber came out of the coop and joined Honey behind the bush.
This was all a bit of a waste of time as the big girls were enjoying the new patch to scratch in and it was so close to the bantys that they stayed put behind the bush. Because this patch hadn’t been dug over for a while it was damp and probably had bugs in and was just irresistible to the big girls.
I had to entice the big girls out of the bantys area with some corn. I then shut the gate so that the they would come out from behind the bush. By now it was nearly bedtime so we decided to give up.
The big girls started a massive preening session and the bantys joined in with the preening on their side. Soon afterwards they all settled down for bed.
We decided to try again after lunch today and it wan’t any more successful. The problem is that the bantys come out and quickly get pecked by Bluebell which understandably scares them. They then retreat to behind the bush and are very reluctant to come out again. I decided to pick Bluebell up and hold her for five minutes. My husband tried to encourage the bantys out with corn but they were very reluctant and the big girls would keep going into their space, forcing them to retreat to the bush.
The bantys venture out
The bantys look so small in the whole run. I only managed this one photo because the next minute they were pecked at and it was too stressful to take any more photos.
Once the big girls came out again we shut the gate and I put Bluebell down. We decided they had had enough for now as it’s stressful for the bantys. The difficulty with having two spaces is that there isn’t a shared space for them to mingle in. My husband did suggest that when the bantys come out we shut the gate so that they have to mix on one side. I just worry that the little girls won’t have any where to run to that feels safe to them.
The good thing though, is that as both sets have a good space and coop of their own it doesn’t matter if it takes a very long time. My husband pointed out that even if they stayed separate, we would still have five happy chickens in a nice environment. Ideally though, I do want them to mix eventually but I am not worried if it takes a long time, so I am not going to stress about it. They are all healthy and happy and that is the most important thing.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
On one hand I can see where your husband is thinking about having two content little flocks but on the other I can see that you would like one happy flock. If that was me I think I would tie back the bantys door so they can get back in , wait for them to come out of their own accord (or the old girls in) and just stand back and see what happens . The odd pecking as you know is normal and you might be surprised how they will just get on with it .
I have just had them out together with a bit more success this afternoon. My post will be coming later today. I used the chicken toy as a distraction.