The past two weeks, MFH and I have been gradually introducing the baby chickens to the grown up chickens.  My goodness, what an ordeal!

The grown up chickens are not impressed by the young interlopers.  The grown up chickens are being down right mean and the baby chickens are being, well…chickens.

The baby chickens are afraid to breathe around the grown up chickens.  The grown up chickens are keeping the baby chickens away from the food and water.  They are just being terrible!

The baby chickens are finally getting so that they are able to eat without fear of instant death from the grown up chickens.

Finally, the past two-three days, we have been able to leave the chickens alone without constantly peeking through the curtains, so to speak, to make sure that all was well.  The baby chickens were still coming in at the end of the day to sleep in our back room.

We decided that tonight was the night.  Tonight the baby chickens were going to sleep outdoors with the grown up chickens.

The grown up chickens have a ritual at “Bedtime for Birdies.”  They get a chicken treat of dried meal worms.  I put it on the ground and close their door.  They greedily eat those worms and then trudge up the ladder to the roosting area.  So…

Tonight while the grown up chickens were enjoying their dried meal worms, MFH and I opened the door to the roosting are and promptly plopped the baby chickens on a roosting bar.  The baby chickens were stunned.  They did not know what to think.  We shut the door and came back into the house.

I watched through a window.

Two grown up chickens went up the ladder and then I heard this awful screeching!  Next I saw a chicken leg dangling through the opening of the ladder and the roosting area.

*sigh

Out MFH and I went again.  The Daryl’s were picking on the baby chickens.  The baby chickens were all huddled on top of each other…cowering in the corner.

I scolded the Daryl’s (They are two Rhode Island Reds) and we put the baby chickens back up on the roosting bar.

Pretty soon, the Rover’s went upstairs.  Same development.  The Rover’s are three Black Astroloupe’s (sp?).  They are fussy chickens.

Out we went again.  Repeated the same process.

Finally, Gretta, my Barred Rock hen went up the stairs.  We had stayed out for her.  She “rules the roost.”

Now, we are back in the house.  I will go outdoors in a bit to check on things.  Those baby chickens need to stay outdoors. They are too big to be in the  house.

AND that, folks, is my evening.  Never a dull moment at the Howard house!    🙂