Hen being mean to chick.

[Yardmom]

Could you use one of your existing hens to be her "friend". That would be letting her be paired 1:1 before she faces the whole flock? They will scuffle at first, but better than having her go 1 against 4.

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

Could you use one of your existing hens to be her "friend". That would be letting her be paired 1:1 before she faces the whole flock? They will scuffle at first, but better than having her go 1 against 4.

yes. My two hens at the top of the pecking order seem to mostly leave her alone.

 

[Tonyroo]

Don't get another bird, your existing bird will eventually be part of the flock. Just takes a while and patience.

 

[azygous]

Could you use one of your existing hens to be her "friend". That would be letting her be paired 1:1 before she faces the whole flock? They will scuffle at first, but better than having her go 1 against 4.

When I was six, on the first day of school, it was chaos in the school yard as teachers and aides were sorting out us tiny ones since we didn't have a clue where to go. So an aide stuck my hand inside the hand of another tiny girl who had the same first name as I. We became instant friends. But that's not how chickens roll.

Baby chicks bond with each other out of survival instinct. Later, they bond with the flock. But actual friendships between chickens can take years to develop. There certainly is not much chance an adult hen will befriend a chick unless broody hormones are triggered. Chicks also have an instinctual fear of adult chickens for good reason. They can be horribly injured.

The best way to handle this is to keep the chick safe while still permitting it and the adult flock to become used to one another. During this period, the chick will derive well being from being in proximity to the adult chickens. It will not be lonely because of this. It knows it has a flock, and that is more important than a "friend."

As the flock and the chick become used to one another, the chick is learning by observing the different temperaments of the individuals. In a few more weeks, this chick will be much larger and will also know and understand the adult chickens and how they behave. I've watched my own chicks as they learn. By the time they are mingling, the chick will know which chickens to avoid and which to trust. There will be no issues, even with the bully hen because the chick will have learned what it needs to do to avoid her.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Beware of getting a chicken off Craig's List or Facebook or chicken meets. It's a good way to import an avian virus into your flock.

While that’s true, I had assumed she wouldn’t be ignorant about it. How else would you get an older hen?

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

Update: I have now integrated her successfully with two of our hens! Only while free ranging. our two golden comet hens are the mean ones. They are the ones that tried to attack her so I think I’m going to keep her away from them for a while.

 

[Chicken mob]

I have a hen who does not want to be nice to this one chick I am trying to integrate. Can I separate the hen? She is the meanest out of all of them and tries to chase her through her pen. Thanks

I would put mean hen in a separate pen until young hen is comfortable. When I remove a hen from the rest of them they then have to reestablish their place in the pecking order.