5 week old chick suddenly being attacked by flock

[chickmamato7]

I have a 5 week old chick that was hatched by a broody (only surviving shipped egg). Mom was lowest in the pecking order, so not a very capable protector. Up until the last 2 days, the other flock members accepted the chick and all was peaceful. Yesterday another broody (2nd lowest in pecking order) aggressively attacked the chick and I had to intervene. I thought maybe the chick overstepped her bounds, since I was treating with meal worms at the time. I didn't think much of it, and thought it wouldn't happen again.

Today the broody hen attacked again, only move viciously and relentlessly. She appeared to be attacking to kill. The other hens got excited and joined in, all chasing and aggressively attacking the chick. I stood guard and protected her with a rake, but each time I thought it seemed peaceful again and I could move away, they flew right back in to attack. It got violent enough that I had to throw my body over the chick to save her. There was not blood, but I'm certain she would have been killed had I not been present to protect her.

I moved the chick to a grow out pen with three 5-1/2 week old Polish chicks. The pen is in the coop, so the chick can at least see her mom. The top Polish chick is not happy with this arrangement, but since the chicks are very close in size, I figured she's safer there and can hold her own until she gets accepted.

Mom is frantically pacing and screaming for her baby and the chick is stressed out as well, but I see no other safe alternative. Will this all work its way out? Did I make the right decision?

Two things recently changed that may have set the stage for this aggression: 1) I added the grow out pen last week, so the Polish could naturally integrate within the coop. 2) A few days later, I re-homed a SLW who was fine with standard sized hens, but bullied my Crevecoeurs by plucking their head feathers out. I figured it was best to re-home her to a standard flock before adding more crested birds. Could removing her have set off a Crevecoeur dominance struggle? The mother of the chick was lowest in the pecking order, but rose up a notch after the chick hatched. The attacking Creveoeur was broody during the chick's introduction, and only recently rejoined the flock. She's been getting picked on by the Wyandottes since coming off the nest.

Any insights or advice? Should I have waited to rehome my bully hen? Did I do the right thing in separating the chick from the flock (and mom)?

 

[SirTeletoll]

When I had mean hens I would always separate her from the flock and put her in my other place (I have two areas right next to each other). They could see each other and interact but couldn't fight through the fence. I realize not everybody can do such a thing, but for me it always worked. After a few weeks I would let the hen back in with the flock and everything was fine. I also introduced new members or ones returning from brooding this way and didn't have problems. Roosters also help keep the ladies in order, so if you do not have one yet, you should consider
Also perhaps the chick had reached the "age" where in the eyes of the hens the chick should be independent and find it's place in the flock.

 

[chickmamato7]

"Also perhaps the chick had reached the "age" where in the eyes of the hens the chick should be independent and find it's place in the flock."

The chick has been growing increasingly independent from mom, wandering away and eating on her own without guidance, so that might be the case. I just figured a mother hen would protect her chick until she could protect herself (around 12 weeks).

The chicks are in a pen within the coop, so visible and able to interact, but safe. I just feel bad that mom and chick had to be separated from one another at only 5 weeks old.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Mom is a low ranked bird which can cause issues as far as being able to protect the chick from other birds. Your new broody is also a low ranked bird, which are often more aggressive to chicks than higher ranked birds (possibly because they don't want to lose more position?)

Unless you're planning to hatch with the new broody I would've taken her out of the equation instead by caging her and breaking her, so baby could stay with mom and the other adults that weren't causing issues.

If you're planning to hatch with the new broody, well... might need more separate pens/enclosures to manage all these moms and babies.

 

[chickmamato7]

Thank you for your insightful reply. I will definitely start caging all broody hens after this and I won't be giving any more hatching eggs! I feel like it's too late to cage the instigator & return the chick to mom now that my two remaining Wyandottes have joined her and behave like a hunting pack.

Is there a book on maintaining pecking order peace, or is this just something you learn with experience? The broody Crevecoeur that started all this is the one I was protecting when I rehomed the feather-picking Wyandotte. It seems that she actually played a crucial role in keeping my Crevecoeurs in line and now all hell has broken loose.

Do I dare cage the still semi-broody Crevecoeur and try to reintroduce the chick with close supervision, or just leave things as they are, since she is fully feathered and with other chicks in a safe place within the coop?

 

[aart]

Is there a book on maintaining pecking order peace, or is this just something you learn with experience?

No.
Yes.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do I dare cage the still semi-broody Crevecoeur and try to reintroduce the chick with close supervision, or just leave things as they are, since she is fully feathered and with other chicks in a safe place within the coop?

Since you've already separated them and the chick has other chicks to grow up with, I would just continue as-is rather than try to add the chick back in and then having things go further downhill. The mom and baby will get over it, even if they're upset for a few days.

I would still cage and break any broodies that you don't want to have hatch/give chicks to, 1) because no reason to have them set if they aren't going to be raising chicks and 2) to try and settle things down in the flock, as broodies can cause some upset to flock dynamics.

 

[chickmamato7]

Thank you! I will follow your advice. I really need things to settle down fast, cuz I ordered 3 Silkie chicks before all this went down and now I'm afraid I should have waited until next year to expand any further. The new chicks will arrive in late August, shortly after the current chicks are fully integrated. It was so peaceful (except for my feather picker) that I thought it would be fine to add some Silkies & Polish once she was gone. Now I think I'm headed for trouble!