continuous pecking. very stressful.

[samuelG]

Hi there.

I got three chickens, two brown ones and a black one about 8 months ago. They have been quite good with each other and integrated well.

A few days ago, I brought back two small ones that I got from a hatchery ( 16 weeks old) and also a smaller one ( 10 weeks old). I put them all in the coop for first night to wake up and find the smallest one hiding in a corner with its head down and the other two 16 week old ones also a bit scared. The issue is that the 16 week old ones kind of attack the 10 week old one and two of the 8 month old brown ones are attacking all of them quite horribly ie they put their beak on the neck and pull and peck.. it is horrible to watch and hence tonight I had to separate them into three groups as it was traumatic:

1st group - 10 week old by itself on the ground floor. This one does not warm to me yet and it is scared and timid. Very stressed and I want it to be alone to sleep and recover after it was attacked during the day as well.

2nd group - two 16 week old ones in a box with straw and hay in it, I placed the box outside of the coop but left the door open so they can leave if necessary.

3rd group - the three original ones. The two culprits are the big brown ones but the black one is quite sweet and at the top of the pecking order.

 

[cluckcluckhens]

We have three groups of chickens. You don't put the young ones in with the older ones right away. I know some do what you did.

We have our senior girls, then the second chicks and the third.

We put the second group in the house for three weeks. We put up a little run in the main run enclosed so the seniors can visit and see each of them for weeks. By the time we opened up the little run they all got along just fine. We still kept them in the house at night for few more weeks. After we knew they would all get along we opened the little coop for the seniors to check their area out. The area the little run was the seniors places to make dirt baths. We did not do this for the third. Why?

Mama Australorp hatched some eggs and took her chicks into the big run at two days old. She showed them how to jump up on the coop deck to get back into the coop at night. I got to see her train her chicks at two days old. Flying lessons started weeks later. Then she showed them how to fly up on the top of the run wall and walk around the run. All three chicks did just fine. I had to help the smallest get onto the coop deck once and put it into the coop where mama was waiting. It was so cute to watch everyday. Mama even had helpers watching her chicks. Mama and both senior helped her with her chicks. One senior helped a while then, the other one.