Hen pecking chicks? Help!

[kaylafaith8]

So I have this 1 year old hen who attacks the chicks I have in the coop ATM. She will go after them even if they aren't near her. The coop is big enough and she has two older hens that she gets along just fine with. One of the babies got out today and is now bloated and has a gigantic hole on his neck. I'm pretty sure he isn't going to make it through the night. I have 12 chicks coming in compared to 3 big hens. ( the other two hens could care less about the babies, but the mean hen just won't leave them alone.) is there anything I can do to keep her from pecking, or do I have to regime her? I would rather lose one hen then all my babies.

 

[sourland]

Generally big chickens pick on little chickens. I would remove this hen until the chicks are larger. I would also closely monitor the other hens to make sure that their behavior does not change.

 

[AcornAcres]

I would separate the chicks from the hens until they are bigger. Also, giving them spaces that they can run away from the hens might work well. I'm thinking like a cubby or divider that has a hole that is only big enough for a chic to pass through, not a hen.

 

[bobbiesflock]

I am new to raising chickens. I added a few day old chicks to a batch of 2 week old chicks, and they pecked at the little ones the first day. I didn't think they would, as they are babies themselves. Someone has to be lowest in the pecking order, so it's the 3 new ones.

 

[Island Roo]

Today I put some chicks I bought under a broody hen. She didnt fall for it and would peck at the chicks. She was ok with the chicks sitting under her but she was not acting like a mother - stuffed her face with some nice fermented chick starter but didn't call the little ones over.

I decided to put her back with the other hens and fired up the brooder lights. That was not going to end well.

Sometimes that works - but not today. I was pretty disappointed...

If I don't have a dedicated mom - the chicks get raised on their own. Away from bigger birds.

Lousy video - but you can see they are happy now.

 

[aart]

This is how I integrate new chicks into the flock:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old

 

[Island Roo]

This is how I integrate new chicks into the flock:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old

There are some great ideas in there !
Thanks for that.