Adding new hens/chicken bully

[StephRN]

So I am a new chicken owner. I raised 6 chickens together from chick age. They have been with us for 4 months now. I did have two Barred Rocks, two RI reds, and two Cali whites. I added two Polish hens to the flock a month ago. The flock is constantly picking on one Polish chicken. They also pick on the other Polish, but not as severely. The picking was lead by my Cali whites. I started to incorperate the Polish hens slowly. I had them in a metal dog cage outside right next to the chicken coop/run. They all free range together during the day with few incidences. I started to at night put the polish hens in a nesting box in the coop and then free range during the day. I have found the back of the head of one polish hen has been pecked raw and bleeding. I removed her to heal and then started the process again. I have even tried to change the pecking order by removing the head hen and putting her in the dog cage and letting the Polish hens in the coop. So far the pecking on the main Polish hen has been reduced, but she is still very skidish and the head hen still leads the flock and picks on the one polish hen like never before. However, we recently lost a Cali white and RI red to a neighbor dog while we were on vacation. I would like to replace my hens with producing hens, possibly an orphington or Easter Eggers, but am afraid of them not getting accepted into the flock. What can I do to help get my Polish hens to be accepted and if I add others to get them accepted?

 

[BirdGirl2004]

So I am a new chicken owner. I raised 6 chickens together from chick age. They have been with us for 4 months now. I did have two Barred Rocks, two RI reds, and two Cali whites. I added two Polish hens to the flock a month ago. The flock is constantly picking on one Polish chicken. They also pick on the other Polish, but not as severely. The picking was lead by my Cali whites. I started to incorperate the Polish hens slowly. I had them in a metal dog cage outside right next to the chicken coop/run. They all free range together during the day with few incidences. I started to at night put the polish hens in a nesting box in the coop and then free range during the day. I have found the back of the head of one polish hen has been pecked raw and bleeding. I removed her to heal and then started the process again. I have even tried to change the pecking order by removing the head hen and putting her in the dog cage and letting the Polish hens in the coop. So far the pecking on the main Polish hen has been reduced, but she is still very skidish and the head hen still leads the flock and picks on the one polish hen like never before. However, we recently lost a Cali white and RI red to a neighbor dog while we were on vacation. I would like to replace my hens with producing hens, possibly an orphington or Easter Eggers, but am afraid of them not getting accepted into the flock. What can I do to help get my Polish hens to be accepted and if I add others to get them accepted?

First and foremost...! I hope that you enjoy this sit as much as the rest of us do! I have learned SOOO much from this, and I hope that you do too! I would make a "see but not touch" chicken tractor! It would let them get used to each other without pecking the crap out of each other!

Something simple like this...

Or something a little more involved...

or this:

Hope this helps!

 

[aart]

Polish are often picked on due to their funky head feathers, and the fact that those feathers can impede their vision, making it harder for them to avoid aggression.
Adding any new birds can result in pecking injuries.
Lots of space, multiple fed/water stations, and place to 'hide' are essential fora smoother integration.

Integration Basics:

It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

 

[JedJackson]

You could try trimming the crests or putting them in ponytails for a while to see if that helps. It should help with their vision and enable them to get out of harm's way. It's still a good idea to integrate them slowly, though.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/trimming-a-polishs-crest.561612/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/polish-cant-see.1002396/

 

[jolenesdad]

More food. Enough feed stations that the bully can be content knowing there’s no need to push off a chicken because there’s plenty of feed.

If it’s just the one Cali bullying still, you could separate HER into the dog crate for a couple of days.

Lastly, get rid of the bully, especially if it’s just one. If after an acclimation period, multiple feeding stations and then bully jail, I’ve still got a bully they are out of here. My flocks pretty passive and sweet now. ;-)

 

[Shorty22366]

My polish all had feathers pulled out. If I was around I would sweat the ones pulling feathers on the fluffy butt. So mine others learned we don't pick on anyone else without getting disciplined. Lol. Don't know if that is what they learned but when I started doing it they stopped but I did I tergrate them very slowly.