Bully hen?

[mldlm]

I have two white leghorns and two blue Australorps that are layers and about 7 months old. I also have two younger ones (about 19 weeks old, not laying yet, one is a speckled Sussex and one is a black australorp).For the most part, the bigger ones ignore the younger ones. An occasional peck here or there, but no blood drawn. The younger ones tend to just stay out of the older ones way. However, one of my older Australorps goes after the younger australorp quite often. She will get right on her and pull at the scruff of her neck. Sometimes it even looks like she is stalking one or the other of the younger ones. It is very distressing to see, but I am not sure if this is normal behavior or not. I tap her beak and tell her no, I don’t know if that even works. Any input you can give is appreciated! Thanks! I am looking forward to the time when the act as a single flock…

 

[3KillerBs]

I'd suspect that she's the lowest in the pecking order and afraid of losing her position to those upstart youngsters.

How much space do they have and how much "clutter" do you have in it? Do you have multiple feed and water stations?

As long as no blood is being drawn and everyone gets to eat and drink you can expect time to cure the problem once the younger ones are laying.

 

[mldlm]

Thank you for the input. It is a little nerve racking…They have a 10’ x 7’ coop. A set of roosting bars on one side for the older girls, and the younger ones have their own roosting bar on the opposite side of the coop ( where their original “Cage” was for the look don’t touch phase). The coop opens to a run that is 10 x 14’. It has 4 different roosting bars and, what I call their “condo”, which is a covered space within the run with its own roosting bar to get out of the sun/rain. There are multiple feed and water stations both in and out of the coop. I can post pics tomorrow, if needed. Thanks, again.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you for the input. It is a little nerve racking…They have a 10’ x 7’ coop. A set of roosting bars on one side for the older girls, and the younger ones have their own roosting bar on the opposite side of the coop ( where their original “Cage” was for the look don’t touch phase). The coop opens to a run that is 10 x 14’. It has 4 different roosting bars and, what I call their “condo”, which is a covered space within the run with its own roosting bar to get out of the sun/rain. There are multiple feed and water stations both in and out of the coop. I can post pics tomorrow, if needed. Thanks, again.

Are there places where the birds can get out of each other's sight?

I like the description of your "condo". I find that when I have some kind of "porch" space -- that's outside but sheltered -- that my birds spend a lot of time there.

 

[mldlm]

Are there places where the birds can get out of each other's sight?

I like the description of your "condo". I find that when I have some kind of "porch" space -- that's outside but sheltered -- that my birds spend a lot of time there.

Not really out of sight, but the littles - they really are the same size as the others now and bigger than the leghorns -go inside the coop quite a bit and the bigs tend to stay outside. The littles will also get up on a roost (or the top of the “condo”). I find this funny because there are times when the littles will be on one of the various roosts and one of the big ones wil get on it, too. The littles will scoot all the way down to the end of the roost, but the big one doesn’t bother them there. My girls will use under the condo for their dust bath area. Lol

 

[3KillerBs]

Not really out of sight, but the littles - they really are the same size as the others now and bigger than the leghorns -go inside the coop quite a bit and the bigs tend to stay outside. The littles will also get up on a roost (or the top of the “condo”). I find this funny because there are times when the littles will be on one of the various roosts and one of the big ones wil get on it, too. The littles will scoot all the way down to the end of the roost, but the big one doesn’t bother them there. My girls will use under the condo for their dust bath area. Lol

I follow the advice I was given for my first integration, having a number of places in the coop and run where birds can get out of sight from the other birds in a different part of the coop and/or run.

It's interesting watching the subflocks moving around and claiming different parts of the area as their own territory.