My bantam hens are bullies

[Bantamomma]

I have a bantam pullet who is about 20 weeks old and every time I try to mix her in with my other 3 bantams, 2 being hens and 1 Roo, the 2 hens attack her, not just chest bumping either. I have had her in a separate area but attached to the coop so they can all see each other. My younger one is actually super friendly and wants to be with them so badly. How or what can I do to remedy this problem?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

What breeds are they? Some breeds are more aggressive. I've literally seen a bantam hen beating up a standard hen before (and the bantam enjoy every minute of it). Are they the same breed? It might take two weeks or so for the new bantam to adjust. She might do better if she had a friend to move in with her, so she's not alone in finding her spot in the pecking order.

 

[Bantamomma]

What breeds are they? Some breeds are more aggressive. I've literally seen a bantam hen beating up a standard hen before (and the bantam enjoy every minute of it). Are they the same breed? It might take two weeks or so for the new bantam to adjust. She might do better if she had a friend to move in with her, so she's not alone in finding her spot in the pecking order.

Well my newer little one is an Old English Bantam, the other 2 are one is a grey Japanese (oldest had the longest about May 5-6 yrs old) and I’m pretty sure the other is a golden laced Cochin (1-2 years old, I did not get her as a chick) and I have my Roo that is a Mille de Fleur Uccle which he doesn’t bully her per say lol but… yeah. He is just about 8 weeks older the her.

 

[Bantamomma]

What breeds are they? Some breeds are more aggressive. I've literally seen a bantam hen beating up a standard hen before (and the bantam enjoy every minute of it). Are they the same breed? It might take two weeks or so for the new bantam to adjust. She might do better if she had a friend to move in with her, so she's not alone in finding her spot in the pecking order.

Oh yeah and she has been out there and separated from them for about 1 1/2 - 2 months now and still no change when they all run free together. It’s so sad I don’t leave them alone all together.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It has nothing to do with them being bantams or what breed they are. I have a lot more chickens than you do but it is really common in my flock for the more mature to outrank the immature in the pecking order and be pretty quick to enforce those pecking order rights. With mine that's when the young invade the others' personal space. Some people have mature hens that actively hunt the younger to attack them but I don't see that. I think how much room they have has a lot to do with it.

Your male is at an awkward age, somewhere between immature cockerel and mature rooster in assessing his possible behaviors. He's about seven months old. I've had cockerels that age behave like a mature rooster, I've had some that were not ready yet. This type of behavior is almost always the hens, a mature rooster generally doesn't do that though there are always exceptions. Who knows what an immature cockerel will do.

Another issue is that chickens are flock animals. They don't like being alone, that's why she wants to be with the others but if she invades their personal space she gets pecked. Integrating a single chicken can be harder than if you have two or more.

So some of my questions are how much room do you have in the coop and in the run (in feet or meters), when and where does this happen, is it just one of the older hens, and what does it look like? Are they actively trying to hurt her or just trying to run her away? Is she actually being injured or is it just pecking? Are they OK if they have more room? Photos can often help.

Typically with a few weeks of my pullets starting to lay they are accepted into the senior flock.

So what can you do? Without knowing more about what you have to work with it's hard to come up with really specific suggestions but in general try to keep her from being injured as she matures.