Hens won’t let chicks in coop at night...

[Mini Farm in the City]

I have never introduced new chicks to an established flock, so any help or advice is welcome! I have 2 grown hens (big speckled Sussex) and we introduced 7 11week old chicks to the big girls 2 weeks ago. We started with the babies in a brooder in the basement (from 2 days old), then see-no-touch separated from the big girls in the run for 2 weeks, now they are fully integrated and spending their days together. There is a moderate amount of pecking happening - no one is being singled out or hurt necessarily but one of the big girls is a meany and pecks any of the babies that come anywhere near her. If they are eating she pecks them as soon as she walks up to the feeder. They all run to the opposite end of the run anytime she is near. If she is in the “inside covered run” the babies all run to the “outside run” to get away from her. At night the big girls routinely go inside the coop on their own, when the babies try to roost in the coop the big meany pecks their feet and knocks them off the roost bar. We let them try to work it out but she eventually chases or pecks all the babies out the coop door and into the run. We put separate roost bars for the babies to roost in the run at night. Tonight all the babies got to the coop before the big girls did so I locked the big girls out to sleep in the run (taste of their own medicine?). The run is very secure with buried hardware cloth and a roof. Not sure if I should keep locking the big girls out for a few days to shake up the order or if the babies are too small still so they can’t hold their own. Will i ruin the big girls routine of going to bed in the coop each night by locking them out? Any help or tips from someone with experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

[aart]

How old are the youngers.....and how long since they've been integrated??
How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help here.


The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

Separate and lower roost for the youngers might help.
'Cluttering' the run might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Mrs. K]

Space is the big question. What are the dimension of your coop. You have basically quadrupled the size of your flock. Did you start with just two birds, and now are expanding? Or did you have a larger flock in that set up previously?

A picture would be good, as I would not expect this problem.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Knowing what you have to work with would be a big help. Dimensions in feet or meters of your coop and runs (sounds like you have two runs) and photos of how they go together could really help.

To me that doesn't sound that unusual or that bad. To me the definition of a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. Sounds like you have achieved that part. Now you want them to be one cohesive flock, hanging out together an sleeping together. That's a bit more challenging until the little kids grow up.

With my flock it is pretty normal for my immature chicks to form a sub-flock and avoid the adults just like yours are doing. Mature chickens outrank immature chickens in the pecking order and can be kind of brutal if their personal space is violated. This generally involves pecking but can also involve chasing. Occasionally you can get a hen that is a brute about this but most of them are OK as long as those snotty little brats just stay out of the way. It usually doesn't take long for the immature ones to learn to avoid the adults.

It sounds like you have enough room for that to work during the day but nighttime is a different story. My main coop is big enough that the younger ones can find places to sleep other than on the main roots with the adults. As long as it is not my nests and is some place predator safe I don't care where they sleep. When they mature enough they'll move to the main roosts. With my pullets that's usually around the time they start to lay.

So what can you do? Without knowing what you have to work with I can't get very specific. Can you fix up a place on the main coop so they can stay separated from the two adults? As you consider the run predator safe you could let them sleep out there. It would be nice if it were covered so they don't get rained on when on a roost out there.

Mainly be patient. Don't force them into a small space where they can't avoid the adults. Given time they should work it out.