6 week old Abandoned and the Flock's Punching Bag

[ChickenIsRwar]

Hello Everyone!

I got a 2.5 gen Cochin chick that was abandoned by first time mama 1st gen hen. Since the abandonment, the other chickens (2yr olds (4) and 3 month olds (10)) have set their sights to peck and fight this younger chick. I wanna believe its just a pecking order thing and some sort of chicken societal norm the chick is unaware of.

The pecking beatdown only lasts about 6 seconds with no real damage to the chick besides being emotionally scarred. The other chicks lose interest and walk away, but then the chick starts to move and makes eye contact with one of the other chickens, the beat down repeats itself.

Currently, the chick is in a cage mingling with the other chickens in the run. Some try to do stuff but are unsuccessful other just sit beside the cage and chill with the chick.

Any advice?

Right now, I'm thinking my only option is to wait another month for the chick to be of good size and let the pecking order resume.

~CHKN

 

[DobieLover]

emotionally scarred

No. Just learning her way in the flock. Pecking order is brutal business. She'll get through it.

was abandoned by first time mama

At 6 weeks, mom has taught her chick everything she needs to know to survive and she weened her.
It's hard for a single bird to integrate in a flock. It's always helpful to have hatch mates to group with.
How big are your coop and run? What is in the run for perching and hiding? Do you free range or allow them out in to a larger penned area?

 

[ChickenIsRwar]

She was abandoned at 3 weeks and is currently 6 going on 7. All other 14 chickens just chase and beat her down. Corner her then jump on her and each peck a couple of times.

I have 2 40sqft coops with over 1500 sqft free range area.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Let her go and work it out. Its always better, IMO, to let the chicks get to 2/3s the size of the adults before integration. During that time, have them feeding znd interacting as often as possible with the safety of a cage etc. Since you have already added her, the process to join the flock has already began. Just let nature take its course.

 

[ChickenIsRwar]

Follow Up: Let her roam around in the run area with the new chicks. Yeah they pecked her a lot, but the rooster in there actually did his job and didn't let the other hens peck her too much.

Took about 4 days for her to figure out how to handle the other chickens. They no longer chase her down.