established hens picking on new ones, need suggestions

[whatsup chickenbutt]

I already had 8 chickens and yesterday I got 4 more. Of the original 8, 3 are over a year, and 4 are about 2-3 months old. Yesterday I got 4 more, 3 of which were hens from an egg production farm where they lived in boxes and were not treated well. All of the hens i already had, including the babies are picking on the three new gals from the production farm. They just dont know how to defend themselves, and dont do anything but cower. Th babies will even jump on their heads and start pecking at them, something that Ive never seen the babies do before. I have separated the groups, i put the originals out in their yard and left the new girls in the coop hoping they will develop a sense of ownership of the coop, and feel more confident around the others, and there is chicken wire in the chicken door, so they can still see each other, but I have no idea if this will do any good whatsoever. Any suggestions? Of the 4 new ones, 3 have already laid an egg, so as far as Im concerned, they've earned the top chicken spot, but the other ladies disagree...

 

[debilorrah]

You need to seperate them, but keep them in view of each other. The old girls need to get to know the new girls before you put them together. They are seen as a threat right now, which is why the old ones are attacking the new ones.

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

they are separated now, and I will keep it that way, but at night when they go to bed they seem to be ok, because they all just kind of sit there and go to sleep, so I thought maybe if i separate them during the day when they are active and put them together at night, they will be ok. What do you think? As far as i know my chickens all go to bed at night, am i correct, or are they active?

 

[BayCityBabe]

They are going to need time to get used to eachother - like weeks, not days.
BTW - it sounds like you didn't quarantine your newbies. I found out the hard way that quarantining is a MUST. I introduced 3 new birds & most of my flock (except the newbs) ended up with a repiratory bug.

Good luck with your flock.

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

Nope, I didnt quarantine. I know I should have, but I got them from the same place I got my other ones so I wasnt too concerned, however, then I realized that the 3 picked on chickens had come to his farm SINCE I got my first batch, so it is quite possible that i have introduced something to mine....AAAARRGGHHH
what should i do now? just wait and see if anything happens? One thing i worry about is lice. yuck. and these birds just seem like they could have it. I mean why wouldnt they, given the conditions they came from. I checked them pretty good and didnt see anything, but i dont know what bird lice is like, so i dont know if i would be able to see them or not. gross. doesnt DE take care of bugs?
the new ones do seem quite healthy though.