How bad is the pecking order fighting?

[Peavy]

I have 4 Delawares, four years old. I really want to get 6 new chicks this year, but I honestly am terrified of the establishment of pecking order once they have been acclimated and are finally put together. My Dels are big girls and pretty bossy with each other. I plan to keep the babies in a pen in the coop, gradually let them free range together, putting them back in their pen at night and eventually get them all together. Now, I have read MANY posts from you helpful chicken lovers about the subject and they have been great. However, how much fighting or pecking is too much? I tend to be squeamish, so I am not sure how much to just let them work it out. Of course, I know if they are causing blood and guts etc to throw in the towel, but can someone describe to me just what normal jostling for rank will most likely be like? I'M SCARED!!!

 

[NonnasBabies]

When I mixed my flock I had 3 older hens and one older rooster and was introducing 15 babies to the bunch. One good thing about adding more than what you already have in there is that they never concentrated on 1 baby to pick on.

I mixed them at night after my 4 went to roost. I placed each one on the roost and check on them for the first few hours to make sure they stayed up there. In the morning I kept an eye on them all day. I had one hen that was the most aggresive and she would pick feathers from them. The babies were really skittish around the older ones for a while and wouln't get any where close to them but of course the older ones would run up to them pick a feather and go away!! That lasted a few days and then they acted like they had always been together!! Now I know I've heard people having lots more problems than I had but you kinda just have to let them do there thing as long as their not being totally brutal!!

I will definetly be adding more to my flock in the future and for me I'll make sure I add quite a few each time I do it and not just one or two!

Missi

 

[PeepsInc]

I fence in a small area of the coop with 2x4 inch wire fence. (I use a large metal dog crate) Line it with card board or smaller wire so they cant fit threw the wire. Keep the small birds in there for a few days so they know it as their pen. Then after a few days remove the cardboard. They can slip threw the fence when the cost is clear. When they get picked on,they run back to the safety of the fence. Eventually they all get along, for the most part.

 

[rittert3]

 

[cobrien]

How big is your coop and run? This is important to think about. More space = less fighting.

The fighting ranges from mild to life threatening. But if your coop is big enough and you allow them to get accustomed to each other by livining next to one another through a fence, and you get breeds that are known to not be too aggressive, your chances of having serious long-term or unsolvable problems are pretty small.

Once you start integrating (when they are all the same size) if you can let them free range together it helps a lot so that the lower ones on the totem pole can get away.

 

[Peavy]

Thank you!!! They have a 6x12 outdoor section and a 6x6 shed with a 6ft long roost inside. I cant change the shed size but I can add 6 more feet to the length of the outdoor run. Do you think that's enough room to add 5 or 6 more birds?

 

[babyblue]

raise the little ones in a pen in your coop and when it comes time for intergration stand guard and spray the abusive hen in the face with a water gun. you as the head chicken lay down the law on fighting. it only took one or two sprays to the face and less then 2 days until all my chickens got along wonderfully.

 

[Peavy]

Wow, I never thought of it that way! Good idea. I have been a dog trainer for many years but it never occured to me to be the alpha chicken myself.

 

[annie3001]

Quote:
hi missi,
i read your response. i have 5 babies comming and have to move them into the main coop with 4 others, so your tips were great.. letting the older ones roost at night first then adding the others. i wont be adding the babies till they are a bit older,,, but ill make sure the other 4 older chickens do get introuctions during free ranging.

andrea-

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might check out this article. It covers quarantine and integration.

Buff Hooligan’s Adding to your flock
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

The normal recommendation is 4 square feet per chicken in the coop with 10 square feet per chicken in the run. They need about 8" off roost space per bird. In all cases, more is better. We all have different circumstances and there are a whole lot of variables that effect this, so there is not one right answer for all of us. These are just rules of thumb that usually keep us out of trouble.

You have a 6'x6' coop. That's 36 square feet or enough for 9 chickens total.

You can have a 6'x18 run. That's 108 suare feet or enough for 10, maybe 11, chickens.

Ypu have 6' (or 72") of roost. That's enough for 9 chickens. It's not that they take up 8" when they are roosting, but it gives them room to get up there and jostle around for the prime sleeping positions.

Good Luck!!!