2 of my chickens are turning into bullies please help!

[rkapfen]

so I have 5 chickens around 19-20 weeks old (not laying yet)- 1 Brahma, 1 Cochin, 1 sussex, and 2 Easter eggers. Lately my Cochin and Brahma (supposedly very docile unaggressive breeds) have been very mean to my other 3 and won’t let them eat! They peck at them and scare them off. I’ve tried pecking back at them when they do this to teach them but it’s not helping. I also put in other feeding spots so they don’t go without food. But is this normal behavior? I’m worried that I have 2 bullies on my hands. Maybe once they start laying their hormones will level out and they’ll be nice? Any advice would be great!

 

[Chicken_Guru]

Normal behavior. What worked personally for me is I locked em all up together, and then let them fight it out, WITH SUPERVISION, so nothing goes wrong. This way, it'll show em the pecking order.

 

[Chickassan]

Yep, they are getting to that age where somebody has to be the boss so they aren't bullying they're fighting for position. Don't worry, as long as there is food for everyone it will be fine.

 

[50-45-1]

Do they have alot of room?
More than one feeding station is a good idea.
Birds in a small area are prone to pecking. Put some stuff in there area to give them things to do. Grass clippings to scratch thru or a hunk of sod to scratch apart. Someone here sugested hanging a cabbage to distract them. Lots of branches to fly up on.
Others will have more ideas.

 

[True Patriot]

What are the sizes of your coop and run? First thing that comes to mind is space, as others have noted. It's normal for some argument, it's how the pecking order is established. You have to have places for the lower level birds to escape to. I have 8 standard size chickens right now. My first run 96sqft (8x12) there was almost constant fighting. Even though they had over the recommended 10sqft each. My total area right now is 1000sqft (40x25) they still fight periodically. Inside the area I have placed items for them to hide (in, under, behind) I also have multiple feed and water locations. Giving the additional space has reduced the number of fights by well over half.

 

[Chickassan]

I looked at OP's past topics, girl has a nice roomy setup.

Do they have alot of room?
More than one feeding station is a good idea.
Birds in a small area are prone to pecking. Put some stuff in there area to give them things to do. Grass clippings to scratch thru or a hunk of sod to scratch apart. Someone here sugested hanging a cabbage to distract them. Lots of branches to fly up on.
Others will have more ideas.

 

[aart]

Onset of lay can bring some 'raging hormones'....and changes to the pecking order.
Are any of the birds showing signs of imminent laying?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/