Help..Added chickens to the flock..problems!

[goldielocks]

I have 13 hens that are 28 weeks old and a rooster that is 28 weeks old. I added 9 seventeen week old pullets and the SLW rooster chases them and keeps them seperate from the others. The 2 older SLW hens will chase them also.

We have tried giving the mean ones a quick spray with the hose...to no avail.

We sperated the 3 SLWs and put them in a different, not so safe run. (chicken wire) It is pretty peaceful now that the SLW's are out. How can I get them to all get along? Do i just hold my breath and let it go on for awhile? I just hate seeing the new girls running for their life.

Have I overcrowed them. The run is an 8 x 20 and the coop is an 8 x 10. There are a total of 23 chickens and only one of them is a rooster. They get plenty to eat with scratch a couple of times a day, they also get scraps and are out each evening for up to 3 hours.

What do i need to do to make this work?

 

[PortageGirl]

Coop size should be fine, a hair less than 4 sq ft per chicken but well over 3 sq ft per. That 4 sq per is a good goal, but I've often gone over by a few hens... still, it's tricky adding new ones sometimes. If you can keep em near enough, sort of in a pen within the coop, it often helps but in this case, I think you're doing the right thing by keeping the most agressive ones away, and letting the others get together. If they are safe enough for a day or so, leave them there, when they get mixed back up, they won't be quite as much the 'top hens' because they'll have been left out of the pecking order for a while. They really are bird brains you know. The rooster adds a little peril, but still, they can learn to get along.

 

[cmom]

I have had the same problem I would just keep the 2 bully SLW pullets separated from the younger one for a few days then let them back in. It worked for me along with the hose, but I gave my bullies a good squirt and soaked them. They eventually got the message.

 

[goldielocks]

Oh good. They have been out for 3 days now. I hope the rooster will like them also. He was chasing them off and keeping them from the bigger girls.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Most people here on BYC are recommending a minimum of 10 sf per standard size chick in the run (4 sf in the coop). Your run is 160 sf which would be the minimum recommendation for 16 chickens but a bit on the small side for 23 chickens.

 

[Kittymomma]

Same advice as the rest

I had the same thing happen when I put my two groups of youngsters together and then when I combined the youngsters with the older hens. Removing the worst of the bullies for a few days worked great with the youngsters. When it came time to put them all out in the hen house it wasn't as much of a problem because the hens were outnumberd 3 to 1 and couldn't decide who to be nasty to.

If you still have problems after giving the bullies a couple of days apart, and you have the space, take them back out again and put them in separate pens. That way when you reintroduce them to the flock they won't have each other for back up.

Good luck! This too shall pass--just like the terrible 3's (not 2's with my kids!) and teenagers.

 

[happi752]

I am out in the Arizona desert as well. I would say yes they are over crowded. We have 3 pens. One is a small breeding pen 8 x 8 and houses only a max of 6 at a time.

The second pen holds our roosters. That pen is 8 X 20 and holds 10 roos.

Our 3rd pen holds all our hens. It is 20 x 60 and currently holds just 16 hens with room for plenty more.

In an 8 x 20 pen, you shold have no more than 16.

 

[goldielocks]

Thank you...good to know.

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[Getaway Gal]

Did you introduce the new ones right out, or did you let them live next to each other for a while? I'm awful new to this and still have my 13 week olds and 8 week olds seperated until they get closer in size. I'm really scared about what will happen when I put them together, but too of the little ones escaped into the large enclosure today....and nobody seemed to notice!!

 

[juliawitt]

I am watching all these posts! I have 16 5 week old pullets and 2 18 month old gals. The babies are in a large segregated brooder...(the sick area normally) and the big girls can see them. Some mornings I wake up, and the big girls are snuggled up next to the wire by the babies....but when the babies are in their "playpen" in the yard, one of the big girls pecked at them. I am very nervous. These posts help. I am hoping to turn them all together in the next 2 weeks....keep the posts coming!