Chicken Transition

Last night the little chicks (not going to be able to call them that much longer) got moved to the big house! Thanks to Ranger (or rather NO thanks), we had to do it the hard way. The easy way would have been to tempt all of the chickens, large and small, into the pen in the evening with some chicken scratch. Then, while everyone is happily pecking away, close the door and lock 'em in. I had this exact scenario going last night, but in addition to all the chickens, I managed to snag Ranger (the guinea) as well. There have been a few mild, seniority scuffles between the older and younger chickens, but nothing serious. Ranger, however, has been a menace to the younger chickens! He's always been at the bottom of the totem pole himself, chased away from the chicken scratch by the other guineas, and I've always shown mercy on him by giving him a separate pile of scratch out of sight of the rest of the birds. Rather than return the favor to those who are now farther down the totem pole than himself, Ranger has become the tyrant of the chicken scratch and seems to relish chasing all the young chickens as far away as possible. So, having him locked up in the chicken pen with the little chickens was nothing but mayhem! Since I couldn't figure out a way, on my own, to extricate just Ranger from the pen, I had to turn them all loose.

Back to plan B - The Hard Way. We waited until dusk, when all the birds were roosting in their preferred locations (luckily, Ranger's preferred location at the moment is the top of a locust tree). We then snagged the little chickens one by one off their perch in the old goat house and switched them to a perch in the chicken coop. There wasn't anything hard about this as far as Joe and I were concerned, but it was very traumatic for the chicks. Each one fought and screamed, convinced they were living out their final moments. But, a minute or two after the transfer was complete, everyone had settled down again and was quiet.

This morning when I turned the chickens out of the house, everything seemed fine. I observed the dynamics for a few minutes and all I noticed was a little bit of grouchiness from one of the hens about sharing the waterer with the little guys. I put an extra bowl of water and extra feeder in the pen/coop to hopefully diffuse any tensions. My goal is to leave everyone in the pen until at least Sunday so the little guys can learn where their new food, water and roosts are. Then, maybe on Sunday, we'll have a little Bible reading from Matthew 18:23-34, about the Unmerciful Servant, with mandatory attendance from Ranger.