bad girls

[dearnley]

i have 13 girls born april may no problem all get along ri reds golden sexlinks and 1 gunea hen as well 3 black windottes.
recently got a new coop and 2 5 week old americanas i kept them isolated 2-3 weeks .. left them out in the chicken run with my other girls they killed or pecked to death one of them!!!
my other one is alone dont know what to do looking for young one to keep her company!!!
why so mean?????

 

[foreverlearning]

Try putting her in a wire cage or dog kennel in the coop at night and separating the yard/run with something like that cheap plastic netting/fencing for gardens. This will allow them to see, hear, and get used to each other while not allowing contact. Do this for a few days to a week and it should help. After you are done with that make sure there are hiding places both inside and outside for her to get to if she is stressed for any reason.

Also, sometimes they will pick on the one not laying until they start to lay. This is another reason to give her hiding places. It may take a little longer than expected for them to all get along but they will get there in the end.

 

[BrendaJ]

Chickens can be brutal especially if there is a big size/age difference.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Typical chicken behavior. A pair of 2 month old bittys are simply too young to mix with 13 full grown chickens. Poor things didn't stand a chance.

 

[ShinShien]

I agree with ChickenLegs. Normal behavior. I have 11 6-month-olds and 6 2-week-olds. They won't be getting together for a long time.

 

[dearnley]

great not really i did just order3 for her to have company there is second coop they will all meet in the spring
i guess

 

[AmericanMom]

We have 11 hens of various ages, from 3 years to alittle over 10 mo, along with them is a Rooster and what we just discovered is two 3 month old boys ( I had hoped one of them was a she), the youngsters were raised by one of the hens.... they are all coop mates and get on just fine, a few weeks ago I hatched out 20 chicks from my incubator, lost only one so far, we turned the storage area next to the coop into a brooder area for the babies, a partial wall seperates the chicks from the adults. There food is seperated by chicken wire, adults on one side babies on the other, we did this to allow the older hens to get used to seeing and hearing the babies throughout the day, when the hens are allowed out to free range they pass right by the babies little mini run... In about three months we will allow the babies out to free range a bit (supervised of course) before allowing full contact and taking down the partian that seperates them at night.
Slow and easy, don't rush getting them togather and it will be just fine

 

[dearnley]

thank you i feel or
felt so bad!

 

[ShinShien]

I felt the same way when I forgot to close my coop one night. !#*$*% feral cats killed and ate my 2 bantam hens. *how the rooster got away, I dunno* Do like I did, learn from it. Now if I can't remember if I closed the door, I go check.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: Have hope and keep trying.

In my experience, this is normal behavior for artificially bred, reared and housed chickens, or the offspring from those that descend from such a recent ancestral environment and social structure.

They've lost the instinct for the natural family group after being reared without mothers, fathers, and a normal varying-age group flock structure for many generations. The instincts will come back if you let them, though it may well take generations. But you'd need to breed them naturally, and separate or not breed those which show absolute intolerance and violence to others. Some of your current flock may never adjust to other birds, as they often can't outgrow the faulty instincts in one generation.

Getting birds from a hatchery often means you get birds which are only tolerant of their own age group, gender, and type. Birds from any breeder who separates flocks and artificially rears them are rather often behaviorally/instinctively confused and aggressive to others.

This isn't a problem I ever have with my non-hatchery stock. Injured or ill birds are not harassed, babies range unmolested with mothers among the whole flock, roosters get along without fights, it's all very peaceful. It IS possible. But I remove or rehome bullies and violent birds, and won't breed any that show negative mentalities. So if you're not keen on doing that, then you may just have to work around your resident bullies/killers indefinitely.

I'm not saying my way is the only way, but it's best for me; what's best for you may be different. I need my flock to freerange in peace for health and productivity's sake, I won't keep birds that harm others or won't get along. Genetics have a lot to do with this, but so does environment and rearing.

Both genders can get along with others of all breeds and ages. All you need to do is remove any that absolutely will not tolerate others, or at least don't breed them, and breed those that do. In a few generations your flock will regain instinct.

Best wishes.