So I have a pack of 5 two year old chickens and a pack of 4, four month old chickens.
They have been living together for the last 2 months. They are now roughly all the same size.
I had figured by now the pecking order would be settled, but if anything, the problems seem to be intensifying. And I am becoming unable to let them out much, which makes the problem worse, so it's compounding the issue
Chicks born in April
Chicks moved outside with the older chickens around the end of June
Fox attacked the older chickens who were out while the younger chickens were locked away in the coop in the beginning of July
House got painted end of July, and the chickens were cooped up for the duration (1 week)
then we went on vacation the next week and told the sitter not to let the younger chickens out because they are harder to corral back in.
Younger chickens and Porter started to refuse to go back into the coup in mid August
The current pecking order:
Hoppy - 2 year old, smaller golden Wyandotte
Big Bird - 2 year old, all white EE
Malty - 2 year old, larger golden Wyandotte - attacked by a fox 2 months ago
Stout - 2 year old, larger silver Wyandotte - attacked by a fox 2 months ago
Porter - 2 year old, smaller silver Wyandotte
Bock - 4 month old laying Buff Orp
Lager - 4 month old all white EE
Saison - month old pullet Buff Orp
Nut - 4 month old chipmunk EE
Hoppy and Big Bird, being the smallest of the older chicken are of course the meanest. They both will chase down Porter and the four month olds and pin them down and peck them. They chase them across the open yard, they chase them in the coop. They basically give no quarter unless they are napping or are otherwise engaged. (They were not in the fox's attack and seem to have no knowledge of the fox)
Malty and Stout don't really participate in the bullying unless they get bumped into or the younger chickens try something particularly annoying. They both are recovering well from having large bites taken out of their backs. The skin has grown back but not the feathers yet.
Porter is currently low on feathers, and had been when they were attacked by the fox 2 months ago, so I think it's just a normal very slow moult, but recently she's stopped laying and also has taken up eating the scrapped off paint from when the house was repainted 3 weeks ago. I've also witnessed her being grabbed by Hoppy and Big Bird and held down while they pecked her. They don't let her eat and make her sleep in the doorway. She spends most of the day hiding in the hen house. If I let her out of the enclosed coop run, she refuses to go back into the coop and I have to pick her up and carry her in. She's always been the least brave of the 2 year olds, but lately it's gotten to the point where I don't know what to do.
Bock and Lager are both mostly tolerated by the older chickens. They seem to have earned a little respect, I think partly because Bock is laying and because Lager is often mistaken for Big Bird, but both are willing to make forays into the parts of the coop where the older chickens are hanging out, provided the big chickens appear to not be paying attention. They sleep outside the henhouse on a makeshift roost.
Saison and Nut both are scared half to death of the older chickens and refuse to go near them unless they are starving or the older chickens appear to be sleeping or not in the coop. They hang out all day on the branches in the coop and rarely walk on the ground unless the older chickens aren't present. They sleep outside the henhouse on a makeshift roost. I almost always have to pick them up and put them back in the coop.
I can't let the chickens free range around the yard all day because of the fox and neighborhood dogs. They normally get to go out in the yard for an hour or two every day while we are home and paying attention. Lately I haven't been allowing the younger chickens free range time because they don't come home, and since Porter has started not coming home as well, she has been cooped up as well.
(Porter's not coming home coincides with the paint eating behavior)
I am pretty sure they are getting enough food and water, mostly as their crops feel full and they are otherwise healthy. There are two watering locations and two feeding locations. The outdoor sleeping roost is fine for now, but when it gets cold they will need to be inside with the rest of the chickens.
I don't really have any good place to segregate chickens other than a dog crate we use as an infirmary for bites. I haven't seen blood from the pecking attacks since the first week when all the young chickens got forcefully pecked on the top of their beaks. That has since stopped, but the pecking in general continues. Saison has tattered flight feathers on both wings from the older chickens grabbing her by the wings.
My coop is theoretically big enough for 10 chickens.
Any help or commiseration is greatly appreciated. I'm not fond of the idea of culling, but Big Bird and Hoppy definitely on the short list for soup.
They have been living together for the last 2 months. They are now roughly all the same size.
I had figured by now the pecking order would be settled, but if anything, the problems seem to be intensifying. And I am becoming unable to let them out much, which makes the problem worse, so it's compounding the issue
Chicks born in April
Chicks moved outside with the older chickens around the end of June
Fox attacked the older chickens who were out while the younger chickens were locked away in the coop in the beginning of July
House got painted end of July, and the chickens were cooped up for the duration (1 week)
then we went on vacation the next week and told the sitter not to let the younger chickens out because they are harder to corral back in.
Younger chickens and Porter started to refuse to go back into the coup in mid August
The current pecking order:
Hoppy - 2 year old, smaller golden Wyandotte
Big Bird - 2 year old, all white EE
Malty - 2 year old, larger golden Wyandotte - attacked by a fox 2 months ago
Stout - 2 year old, larger silver Wyandotte - attacked by a fox 2 months ago
Porter - 2 year old, smaller silver Wyandotte
Bock - 4 month old laying Buff Orp
Lager - 4 month old all white EE
Saison - month old pullet Buff Orp
Nut - 4 month old chipmunk EE
Hoppy and Big Bird, being the smallest of the older chicken are of course the meanest. They both will chase down Porter and the four month olds and pin them down and peck them. They chase them across the open yard, they chase them in the coop. They basically give no quarter unless they are napping or are otherwise engaged. (They were not in the fox's attack and seem to have no knowledge of the fox)
Malty and Stout don't really participate in the bullying unless they get bumped into or the younger chickens try something particularly annoying. They both are recovering well from having large bites taken out of their backs. The skin has grown back but not the feathers yet.
Porter is currently low on feathers, and had been when they were attacked by the fox 2 months ago, so I think it's just a normal very slow moult, but recently she's stopped laying and also has taken up eating the scrapped off paint from when the house was repainted 3 weeks ago. I've also witnessed her being grabbed by Hoppy and Big Bird and held down while they pecked her. They don't let her eat and make her sleep in the doorway. She spends most of the day hiding in the hen house. If I let her out of the enclosed coop run, she refuses to go back into the coop and I have to pick her up and carry her in. She's always been the least brave of the 2 year olds, but lately it's gotten to the point where I don't know what to do.
Bock and Lager are both mostly tolerated by the older chickens. They seem to have earned a little respect, I think partly because Bock is laying and because Lager is often mistaken for Big Bird, but both are willing to make forays into the parts of the coop where the older chickens are hanging out, provided the big chickens appear to not be paying attention. They sleep outside the henhouse on a makeshift roost.
Saison and Nut both are scared half to death of the older chickens and refuse to go near them unless they are starving or the older chickens appear to be sleeping or not in the coop. They hang out all day on the branches in the coop and rarely walk on the ground unless the older chickens aren't present. They sleep outside the henhouse on a makeshift roost. I almost always have to pick them up and put them back in the coop.
I can't let the chickens free range around the yard all day because of the fox and neighborhood dogs. They normally get to go out in the yard for an hour or two every day while we are home and paying attention. Lately I haven't been allowing the younger chickens free range time because they don't come home, and since Porter has started not coming home as well, she has been cooped up as well.
(Porter's not coming home coincides with the paint eating behavior)
I am pretty sure they are getting enough food and water, mostly as their crops feel full and they are otherwise healthy. There are two watering locations and two feeding locations. The outdoor sleeping roost is fine for now, but when it gets cold they will need to be inside with the rest of the chickens.
I don't really have any good place to segregate chickens other than a dog crate we use as an infirmary for bites. I haven't seen blood from the pecking attacks since the first week when all the young chickens got forcefully pecked on the top of their beaks. That has since stopped, but the pecking in general continues. Saison has tattered flight feathers on both wings from the older chickens grabbing her by the wings.
My coop is theoretically big enough for 10 chickens.
Any help or commiseration is greatly appreciated. I'm not fond of the idea of culling, but Big Bird and Hoppy definitely on the short list for soup.
