Hens attacking new chicks

[Eggcessive]

They should be close enough in size to introduce them at 20 weeks old. They will be laying soon, so I would spend some time with them, and separate a bully. Make sure that you have enough room for them. They should have 4 square feet per hen inside the coop, and 10 in the run. They should also get outside to free range . There normally is pecking from establishing a new pecking order, and additional feeder and waterers must be placed in different areas, so all can get to food and water. Get some pine tar at TSC in the horse supplies, and put on any area that has been pecked. That bad tasting sticky ointment usually stops repeated pecking. Of course, you should,wait for the new chicks to get older and closer in size to integrate them, as you have down with the 20 week olds. I have had to rehome a certain breed of hens since they were mean to the other hens.

 

[rjohns39]

If you can put some kind of barrier in the run so that they can see each other but not touch, that will help.

 

[CrazyChickenLady2017]

I will for sure be much more careful. This is the first time I've ever owned chickens and i didnt think they would be that aggressive. They are a straight run.

 

[kmom08]

Will they eventually stop attacking once the chicks are as big as them?

They will, just be patient. I got a single 11 week old Chick in November, and it took a while to integrate (due to unexpected health issues and brain surgery) but all are doing great now!

I won't ever try introducing a single one again though, maybe a minimum group of 3. We used a extra large dog crate in the run, and slept her in a kennel inside. It took several attempts. We also had a lot of rainy cold days so we had to restart the process a few times.

What finally worked was 2 full weeks in the crate and confining the big girls to the run with her. Finally I was able to slip her in the chicken house after dark, the next morning there were a few pecks but that's it.

 

[Eggcessive]

If they are straight run, have you identified and separated the cockerels? Otherwise, it is going to be a madhouse. Young 4 month old cockerels, especially if you have a mature rooster, are going to create havoc. Too many cockerels and no place to put them, is why I stopped breeding. Do you butcher any of your extra cockerels? Some people separate young cockerels in a pen of their own, or you may be able to give them away to people who need a rooster of a certain breed.