Chicks being bullied

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Hello,

I have 27 chicks and 4 different breeds and varying ages.
The youngest, 3 (3-4 week old) Wyandotte’s are being bullied by the other chicks.
Weve seen our cockerel RIR (5-6 week old) chase and peck at them.
Last night a Cali Tan (5-6 week) and a Sapphire Gem (unsure if it was the 3-4 or 5-6 week old one since my husband saw it happen) had one pinned between them and we’re pecking it back and forth like a ping pong ball while it was trying to run away screaming.

We’ve been extra diligent to watch them now. We’ve never seen them jump on one but usually chasing one down when separate from their group of other Wyandotte’s.

Is this normal behavior???

They are locked in a brooder from 8pm-8am and then allowed to roam a fenced 100sqft to play, forage and do chicken stuff. We never hear issues inside the brooder it’s always out in the 100sqft that bullying happens. They are always all snuggled up with the group at night time.

Is it because they are the smallest and youngest and order is being established? Or do we just have a few bullies in the flock?

 

[sourland]

Sad, but it's normal chicken behavior. Big chickens pick on little chickens to prove dominance. As long as blood is not being drawn I would not intercede. If aggression increases I would remove the bullies from the flock until the smaller chicks gain some size.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Sad, but it's normal chicken behavior. Big chickens pick on little chickens to prove dominance. As long as blood is not being drawn I would not intercede. If aggression increases I would remove the bullies from the flock until the smaller chicks gain some size.

That is sad since it’s males and females picking on the little females.
It’s just cause their gonna be so pretty their jealous lol jk

 

[aart]

Are there hiding places in the 10x10 run?
(BTW that's not going to be big enough for 24 birds.)

Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Are there hiding places in the 10x10 run?
(BTW that's not going to be big enough for 24 birds.)

Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

Oh the current run is just temporary while we build their coop and allow them to grow. They will be free range once big enough or rotated with an electric fence.
Their brooder is in there and it’s in the woods with lots of tree and brush cover.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Good ideas for hiding places:

I’ll add some more wood pieces in there they have a lot of wood pieces in there and cement blocks.
I’ll add in some pallets as their small enough still that I could easily raise them on just a cinder block.