Hen behavior and integration question

[MysticUniKitty]

We did 3 week of see but no touch, 3 days of 9 week olds mingle with younger ones in coop (those ones run freely after the first week cuz hens kept getting in with them and roughing them up) while hens were in run... two days ago finally let everyone out and other then the get out of my way pecks or out of my space, we had no issue. Today Mustard the Orp got into the old brooder which i left in and open for escape areas, and cornered one. She was literally on top her ,Sesame wasn't fighting ,was cowering, and still Mustard was pecking and ripping out beak full of feathers!
I've read tons about pecking order but this seems way more? Right now Mustard is in a cage in the coop since I can't trust her for the night. She has food and water.... maybe i need to redo the inside? And redo the see and no touch thing?

 

[Sequel]

We did 3 week of see but no touch, 3 days of 9 week olds mingle with younger ones in coop (those ones run freely after the first week cuz hens kept getting in with them and roughing them up) while hens were in run... two days ago finally let everyone out and other then the get out of my way pecks or out of my space, we had no issue. Today Mustard the Orp got into the old brooder which i left in and open for escape areas, and cornered one. She was literally on top her ,Sesame wasn't fighting ,was cowering, and still Mustard was pecking and ripping out beak full of feathers!
I've read tons about pecking order but this seems way more? Right now Mustard is in a cage in the coop since I can't trust her for the night. She has food and water.... maybe i need to redo the inside? And redo the see and no touch thing?

I feel for you! So stressful! How old is Mustard? I had a 1 year old Salmon Faverolles (Tezza) do that when I introduced 2 pullets. The other 2 adults were only mildly interested in the littles, but Tezza just flew at them, I was afraid she'd kill them!

I ended up temporarily rehoming her to a flock down the road. I think it was probably 6 to 9 months later I brought her back and now Tezza is the submissive hen. She is now 3 years old and the littles are now 2, and the older flock members have died off and now I'm faced with introducing littles again. I'm hoping you'll tell me Mustard is fairly young because I have a theory that younger hens are more volatile than older ones. Sorry to blab on and on, but I do hope you figure something out!

I think from what you said though that it's either see and no touch until the others grow enough to stand up to Mustard or Mustard loses interest in war, whichever comes first. That or rehome the troublemaker at least temporarily, it worked for me. Good luck! I'm anxious to see how this plays out!

 

[Stacyoung13]

We did 3 week of see but no touch, 3 days of 9 week olds mingle with younger ones in coop (those ones run freely after the first week cuz hens kept getting in with them and roughing them up) while hens were in run... two days ago finally let everyone out and other then the get out of my way pecks or out of my space, we had no issue. Today Mustard the Orp got into the old brooder which i left in and open for escape areas, and cornered one. She was literally on top her ,Sesame wasn't fighting ,was cowering, and still Mustard was pecking and ripping out beak full of feathers!
I've read tons about pecking order but this seems way more? Right now Mustard is in a cage in the coop since I can't trust her for the night. She has food and water.... maybe i need to redo the inside? And redo the see and no touch thing?

I would put the aggressive hen in the see no touch area for about a week, then let her mingle and see how she does.

 

[SueT]

If after trying the above suggestions, the bully doesn't stop, and you don't want to rehome or cull her, I suggest Pinless Peepers....they are plastic blinders that snap into the nostrils and limit forward vision. This former bully wore them for several months, and now is reformed.

 

[Stacyoung13]

If after trying the above suggestions, the bully doesn't stop, and you don't want to rehome or cull her, I suggest Pinless Peepers....they are plastic blinders that snap into the nostrils and limit forward vision. This former bully wore them for several months, and now is reformed.
View attachment 1760276

Doesn’t that make it hard for them to get around, eat and drink? I’ve heard of side blinders (horses), but blinders you put in front of the chickens eyes to block forward vision? Poor thing.

 

[SueT]

Doesn’t that make it hard for them to get around, eat and drink? I’ve heard of side blinders (horses), but blinders you put in front of the chickens eyes to block forward vision? Poor thing.

It doesn't seem to stop eating and drinking and moving, or roosting, or foraging. It just stops them from pecking other birds. They get used to it rather quickly. Try holding one hand about an inch or 2 in front of your eyes. You can still see a lot.
Anyway, for this hen pictured, who had bloodied other chickens 3 times, it was the peepers, or the crock pot.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

It doesn't seem to stop eating and drinking and moving, roosting, foraging. It just stops pecking other birds. They get used to it rather quickly. Try holding one hand about an inch or 2 in front of your eyes. You can still see a lot.
Anyway, for this hen pictured, who had bloodied other chickens 3 times, it was the peepers, or the crock pot.

I'm facing a similar situation. I've had my 3 BR chicks in the "guest suite" inside the chicken coop for 1 and 1/2 weeks now. My 1 year old hens did not acknowledge them at all so yesterday I tried the meet and greet. That did not go well. One of my hens was absolutely aggressive towards the littles and had one cornered and attacking the poor thing. I rescued all three and put them back in the "suite." I was thinking of trying again and putting the aggressive hen into lockup. The other hens weren't so bad, a little pecking and chasing but not terrorizing. I've been working on making an extension to their run to give them all more room, but the weather has not been cooperating. So, I should lock the meanie up?

 

[SueT]

I'm facing a similar situation. I've had my 3 BR chicks in the "guest suite" inside the chicken coop for 1 and 1/2 weeks now. My 1 year old hens did not acknowledge them at all so yesterday I tried the meet and greet. That did not go well. One of my hens was absolutely aggressive towards the littles and had one cornered and attacking the poor thing. I rescued all three and put them back in the "suite." I was thinking of trying again and putting the aggressive hen into lockup. The other hens weren't so bad, a little pecking and chasing but not terrorizing. I've been working on making an extension to their run to give them all more room, but the weather has not been cooperating. So, I should lock the meanie up?

Yes, as suggested by another, separate the bully, and see how the chicks get along with the other hens. What breed(s) are the hens?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Yes, as suggested by another, separate the bully, and see how the chicks get along with the other hens. What breed(s) are the hens?

My 1 year old hens are RIR's and the 3 little ones are Barred Rocks. The babies are 7 weeks old now. I'm also suspecting that this bully is also the feather plucker. I separated my rooster because he was roughing up the girls and I wanted to give them all a time-out to let their feathers grow back in. However, 2 of the hens still have bare spots on their backs, although the other three are getting their feathers back.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You need to give it some more time. That sort of behavior should stop as chicks learn to run and dodge. You are still in the integration process.

It generally takes me a few months before I feel comfortable leaving the young ones out 24/7. So keep up supervised mingling. Separate out when there's troubles, and make sure chicks can always escape through or under stuff.