I've integrated my 4 - 15 1/2 week chickens with my 5 - 3 year old hens. They'd done the same coop separated with plastic netting for 2 months. Then they old ones started coming thru the nesting boxes because, the 4 on their side apparently weren't adequate, so I took down the bottom of the netting, so they all could get thru easily as one of the old girls, Patty the Punk, would come over and be jerk to the youngsters. Opening it up allowed them to get out of the coop and into the run where I've not seen any big problems. The problem, is the roost. It's an 8 foot roost that runs along the back of the coop. The netting is still up there so the old girls mostly go on one side and the youngsters on the other side, keeping with how they'd been. Except for 2 of the old ones. One is just being special, she'll do a little picking on the youngsters, but not over the top. Punk Patty will go up on the youngsters side, she'll not let them up. When they've tried to get up, she'll go after them hard. She had one trapped and just kept pecking at her head. I was away and watching this on my ring camera, so I rush home and by the time I get home, the one who was being picked on hard was over on the old girls side, Patty the punk was on the little's side toward but next to the netting, 2 of the littles were as far away from her as they could get on their side and one little was all alone in a nesting box. Apparently, Patty simply wouldn't let her up without going after her.
I'm not seeing an issue during the day as they hang with their age group when roaming the yard and I've not witnessed severe bullying in the run. I also don't know that I want to disrupt the whole 3 year old flock as they seem to be doing fine, it's just the littles she goes after.
So, do I jail her just at night and she gets work release? Would a dog crate inside the coop be good enough, or my small falling apart wayfair coop/run next to or away from the rest of the chickens?
Now, if I ate my chickens, she is pretty heavy, so she would make a meal, but I don't and haven't even dispatched a chicken in 13 years of having chickens - I'd take them to the vet when they were sick and needed it. I've never had a chicken I wanted gone due to her being an arse. I still don't think I could do it. I'm a wuss. But I cannot allow her to continually go after the little ones.
My other thought was to create another roost on the other side in front of the windows. Maybe the littles can roost there. The coop is the traditional Amish style 8 foot x 4 foot coop with the nesting boxes in the front.
I'm not seeing an issue during the day as they hang with their age group when roaming the yard and I've not witnessed severe bullying in the run. I also don't know that I want to disrupt the whole 3 year old flock as they seem to be doing fine, it's just the littles she goes after.
So, do I jail her just at night and she gets work release? Would a dog crate inside the coop be good enough, or my small falling apart wayfair coop/run next to or away from the rest of the chickens?
Now, if I ate my chickens, she is pretty heavy, so she would make a meal, but I don't and haven't even dispatched a chicken in 13 years of having chickens - I'd take them to the vet when they were sick and needed it. I've never had a chicken I wanted gone due to her being an arse. I still don't think I could do it. I'm a wuss. But I cannot allow her to continually go after the little ones.
My other thought was to create another roost on the other side in front of the windows. Maybe the littles can roost there. The coop is the traditional Amish style 8 foot x 4 foot coop with the nesting boxes in the front.
