Fighting chickens or just pecking order?

[clucking with my chicken]

Hey, I have just got some chicken that are 15- 16 weeks old.
i also I have only chicken who is 2 years old, introduced one to see how she would react and she seem nice at first to her then pecking her and chased her.
i have separated them, what shall I do now?

 

[azygous]

You need to allow the chickens to establish their new social order. People do this, too, but we usually talk and brag in order to establish who was here first and therefore dominant. Chickens do it with their beaks. It takes the place of talking and bragging.

It usually involves a peck on the head by the home chicken, telling the new chicken, "I was here first." Since there is only one original chicken, it won't take long, and it probably won't involve any pain or blood shed. But if you see several chickens standing on top another pecking away and causing injury, you'll need to step in. However, this is very unlikely.

It's up to you how you handle it. You can do it one at a time as you just did with the first new chicken, or you can release all at once and let them deal with sorting it out over a few days time until everyone has ranked themselves in a new social order.

The best thing you can do to get it over with quickly is to leave them alone.

 

[clucking with my chicken]

Aw thank you so answering! yes I know about the pecking order I just wanted another “yes” coming from someone else and as their my pets, I probably need to get inside or I’ll stop the fight lol!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Also helps to provide more than one feed source so the older bird can't food guard, as well as some clutter to give the birds hiding places to diffuse aggression.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/