Chickens Are Just Mean

I don't know why I did it, but a few hours ago I let the new chickens out of the cage. Well, the 2 little Barred Rocks blended right in with the rest of them. I could not tell them from the rest. And so did the little Red Star, although she is a bit smaller. But the 2 Americana chicks, they were bullied and pecked and just plain terrorized the whole time they were out. The one bigger chick got out of the coop but the smaller one couldn't figure out how.  There were some others that were chasing her and she was running into one of the nest boxes trying to get away. I caught her and put her out in the yard. And they still chased her. So a little later those 2 and the Red Star were all in the corner of the coop. So I caught them all and put them back in the cage for a few more days. I'll let them out at night next time. Poor girls. But the BR are doing just fine so far. It's good to blend in.

One of the Americana's is darker than the other chickens. I told my friend last night why I didn't want to get the white Americana. I do believe they see colors and they can tell a chicken that is not like them. So there was no way I could get a white chicken. But I have some darker hens so didn't think this one would be much different. But it could also be because she's just a bit smaller too. So I'll wait to let them out for awhile. It's just going to be near 100 for the next several days here.

Does anyone else have this happen with new chickens? They can be such bullies. And there are so many.

Chickens

The top picture is of the new girls. 2 Barred Rock, 2 Americana and 1 Red Star. I'll leave them in the cage a few days to get to know all the other chickens. They're about the same size as the newer BR chicks. 

The other 2 pics are of the shade cloth I just put up for them. There is no shade except for inside the coop and right outside the coop is a little bit during the day. Then in the back is a big maple tree. So this is already helping. Now maybe they won't all have to go inside the coop during the day to get out of the sun. 

Now I have 14 Barred Rock, 5 Americana, 6 game, 12 Buff, 4 Red Star,  and Mr. Andy Rooney. I have a little BR roo who will be going to his new home in a few days. So I think that's 41 hens. 19 of those are under 6 months old. So hopefully they will start laying soon.

I would love to hear about your chickens.

New Chickies

I just got home from picking blueberries (only got about a quart and ate half of those while picking) and getting 5 new chickens. It was night and there were a lot of them so I really don't know what I have for sure. I just put the cage in the coop and will see what I have in the morning. I think the man said they were about 5-6 months old. Only $6.00 a piece. My friend went with me and she got 15. In a really small cage. And we were at least 35 miles from home. I do know she got some really big pretty Barred Rocks and some big black ones with feathered feet. Really pretty chickens. I am going to take some pictures tomorrow. I need to take a head count of all my chickens. All the new ones are not laying yet. And I got 10 4 month old Barred Rocks about a month ago. Anyway, lots of birds out there now. I just hope I start getting lots of eggs soon!