Can't seem to get chickens to "get along"

[lsg1007]

This seems to be my most difficult year of raising chickens (since starting in 2007); everything seems to be harder, new issues, new learning opportunities. On to my latest problem. I have 2 broods of chickens. One batch of 4 (white rock, brown leghorn, australorp and wyandotte) is ~18 wks, the other batch of 2 (EEs) is ~12 wks. They have been in side by side "cages" since the younger batch was 3 wks old while they were awaiting me to finish "hawk proofing" their 100ft by 25 ft run. However, they have been sleeping in the coop together every night over the last 9 wks. All are pullets. None have started laying. I have allowed them to run together in when I was working in the run. But would often need to intervene. Now that the run is complete I have tried integrating the 2 groups, without success. They did well the first day. But the leghorn is vicious. She had one of my EE with her head stuck through the fencing, on top of her pecking repetitively. By the time I had gotten out to them, the commotion had gotten the attention of the other old chickens and 2 of them had joined her. After thoroughly stressing out the leghorn with an attempt to place peepers (which after 45 min I finally got on her beak and after less than 45 sec the wyandotte ripped off) I tried placing the leghorn in a crate. This worked for a day - everyone was peaceful. But today the australorp has decided that she will use this opportunity to be alpha hen and I assume in an attempt to escape her wrath, one EE tried to fly over the gate and had somehow failed miserably. She was hanging upside down by both feet which had slipped between the pickets. I don't know how long she had been that way. She was no longer struggling, but still alive. So, I have resorted to placing the 2 EEs in the crate while the others are lose in the run. I think this may be the safest location for them, but I don't want the others to continue to feel that the run is theirs. Will things settle down once the older ones start laying? I have never had such difficulty introducing new birds, but I have always introduced young pullets to already laying hens.

 

[Judy]

These sorts of problems pretty much go away when chickens have plenty of space. Unfortunately, "enough" is not necessarily a number or formula. You can try increased variety in the space ( small roosts, things to jump on or hide behind, etc.) and add distractions such as flock blocks or a hanging cabbage, but these are really substitutes for what is natural for them, which is room to get away from each other.

 

[r devries]

Is your avatar one of them it looks like a rooster to me.

 

[lsg1007]

Ahh - yes he is a roo, but he is the RIR roo we had last year and rehomed

 

[fiveladybugs]

I have the same issue with mine. We keep our white leghorns and Red Sex Link in a pen together next to a pen that contains three Silkies, two Ancona pullets & a Brown Leghorn pullet. We've been trying to free range them together, but turns out the Red Sex Link hen & our Blue Silkie rooster aren't on friendly terms

She's finally found some chickens who come under her in the pecking order. I'm hoping they learn to get along, otherwise they'll be free-ranging at different times.

 

[crazy4chickens5]

I hear you. I just lost a japanese bantam to this issue. The "alpha" hen (mine is a barred rock) always chased her around, and pecked her. I tried to stop it, but my bantam would always fly up into a tree. Today, she jumped down and got ransacked by a coyote. R.I.P. Sebastian. Yes, a funny name for a girl! I thought it fit her when I got her.

 

[lsg1007]

I tried crating the alpha and beta pullets (leghorn and australorp). As I suspected the remaining white rock and wyandotte got along peacefully with the EEs. No attempts to attack the younger ones. I might just keep the 2 naughty ladies in time out for I while, but this may just be delaying the inevitable. I have noticed, however, that my white rock is really the alpha, she just doesn't care to be showy and demonstrate this unless forced to do so. If the leghorn does get too obnoxious toward one of the older pullets, she'll put a stop to it and if the leghorn charges the white rock, she puffs up tall and will peck her in the head if that doesn't work. The white rock doesn't go running around pecking on everyone like the leghorn does. I am hoping if the white rock accepts the 2 EEs into her flock that when I release the leghorn and australorp, white rock will protect the EEs instead of joining in. We'll see...

 

[TN wildman]

Do your sexlink And leghorn get along. thinking about adding a wlh to my flock they killed one Austrolop and almost killed the other Please contact Mark at mvtnwildman@gmail .com