Brown Leghorn Bullies

[Lesjr883]

Yes, I understand the cockerels are not causing problems (yet). But...you are focusing on punishing older pullets for fairly normal behavior. Some breeds need even more space than others. It would be better to leave the pullets where they are with their group of pullets/hens, separate the cockerels and let them grow up - they need to be confident, mature and be able to take charge of the 15(?) hens/pullets. Also, do you plan on keeping all 3 cockerels? How is that going to work in your space and with your number of girls?

Just my 2¢

I was only planning to keep one cockerel for my girls. Do you think the leghorns were just picking on him because he is a boy? I would be really upset if they treated one of my young pullets like they did the young cockerel. I bought the leghorns from a feed store because they were older and in a really small cage. They were not very healthy and I had to nurse them back to health. I say that to say I was not looking for leghorns when I got them. If I need to sell them I could, or just keep them separated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I was only planning to keep one cockerel for my girls. Do you think the leghorns were just picking on him because he is a boy? I would be really upset if they treated one of my young pullets like they did the young cockerel. I bought the leghorns from a feed store because they were older and in a really small cage. They were not very healthy and I had to nurse them back to health. I say that to say I was not looking for leghorns when I got them. If I need to sell them I could, or just keep them separated.

If you don't like the leghorns, then re-homing them would be an option.
It's hard to know if they picked on him just because he's a cockerel. Sometimes, chickens pick on another because they can.

 

[springvalley123]

A couple of years ago I got 11 brown leghorns and 13 andalusians. The leghorns were the bottom of the hierarchy--the andalusians booted the leghorns out of the roost in the evening, but they all got along as pre POL pullets. I sold the andalusians around that point and the leghorns roosted promptly. Later I got turken babies, raised them alongside the leghorns, then the turkens took over (dominating but not hurting the brown leghorns) when the turkens were about same size, about 10 weeks of age. By then the leghorns had been laying. I moved again and sold the leghorns, they integrated right into their new flock of older white leghorns.

So, I don't think that's a breed thing, but that's only 11 birds from one hatchery.

 

[aart]

Sometimes, chickens pick on another because they can.

Especially lower ranking birds.

 

[Lesjr883]

Just a couple pics of the young chicks.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hi, I have a mixed flock where the oldest hens are quite domineering to the rest. As my new pullets nature, they also get quite bossy, I think my flock trains them all in survival of the fittest... My original “mean girls” are mutts but could be leghorn or production red mixes. I’ve integrated multiple chicks and pullets, including mild mannered silkies and Favorelles, and they’ve all managed, but we don’t have a very harmonious flock. We’ve managed because we have a decent amount of floor space, plus separate areas, multiple feeders, and visual separation.

Our up and coming cockerels actually fare better socially than the pullets with the mean girls, though sneak mating attempts can really get a girl to go after him (I move cockerels out soon after that happens). All that to say that it “could” be a cockerel issue, especially if one had the audacity to jump an older pullet, and it’s worth separating the cockerels IMO to see if that’s the case. I had a cockerel that crowed at a month and was launching sneak mating attacks by less than 2 mo! It was so shockingly funny, he was so much smaller than the hens he was launching himself at, but also very obnoxious so he went to a bachelor pad soon after. He didn’t usually do this when I was there, he preferred certain times of day, so it wouldn’t be hard to miss initially.

You also haven’t had them fully integrated for very long, so they could be working things out and things will settle down. I know from other BYC members that many people “tolerate no meanness “ and cull or rehome cantankerous birds. Really, I didn’t even know that was a thing until recently! It does seem to me that if you can rehome (we can’t), it’s worth considering if other attempts at resolving this don’t pan out.

Best of luck with the social engineering (that’s what I call it when I “help” my chickens roost more peacefully!) Each mean girl thinks she deserves about 4 feet of roost space, plus empty space below her. The mean girls know that if they peck a subordinate hen while I’m there, she gets put on the floor or another roost, so they wait until my back is turned... Not harmonious.