How intense is your pecking order?

[FrostRanger]

You could try to introduce mature, hardy, woody plants in pots to the run. Small trees, berry shrubs, stuff like that. Young plants are easy to destroy, and stuff like strawberries and herbs, chickens will just absolutely shred them within hours or days. Mature tomato plants are great for shade and having dirt baths under, plus they can snack on the tomatoes!
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Raspberry plants are great because the thorns keep the chickens from tearing up the stems. You can kind of braid and shape the stems into a diy shelter! Mulberry bushes are sturdy, great shelter, great roosting and foraging opportunity. We have a few growing wild on the property that the girls routinely pick berries off the ground under.

You can try growing vine plants up the side of the run, like beans, peas, ivy, nasturtium, etc.

Look into native plants that will grow well in your environment too, if you want to go the planting route. Native plants tend to do much better in the long run and are healthier for the environment!

Be mindful mulberry can get very tall, we have one in our driveway and it's probably around 30ft tall and that's evidently on the shorter end of how tall they can get, some can get up to 80ft tall. Ours is unfortunately a male tree so no fruit but it does have nice flowers in spring

My flock made up of 3 easter eggers, 3 lakeside eggers and a buff orpington (all hens) is pretty peaceful other than normal pecking order stuff. I pretty rarely free range and they have a 12x12 covered run they hang out in. No idea why your flock is so high strung, some flocks are just like that unfortunately, you've been given some pretty good suggestions to hopefully help things

Adding a rooster may or may not help things. For some people adding a rooster completely sorts things out, he keeps things from getting out of hand and breaks up fights, for others a rooster does absolutely nothing, he'll pretty much just ignore the fighting and do his own thing and unfortunately for some the rooster adds his own drama to the mix. Not saying that a good rooster can't help but finding a good rooster that does keep the peace can be an ordeal in of itself. Personally, unless you already want or need a rooster I wouldn't get a rooster hoping he'll solve the problem, he might or he might cause more drama himself

 

[ValkerieGunn]

My Bantam Cochins sorted themselves out early and once introduced to the rest of the flock who free range they stay near the older hens who normally stay around the back of the yard while the rest of the spring babies have claimed the front yard. Although my 2 Bantam Cochin cockerals are definitely in charge and putting the other larger cockerals in their place until I figure out who is staying or going.

 

[K0k0shka]

Chicken temperaments can vary a lot between breeds and between individuals within the same breed. And not all breeds get along well together. I picked my breeds to be easy-going, non-confrontational and generally submissive, so they’d be compatible with each other. They’ve been getting along fine for the past 5+ years. I have several generations total, of a mix of Orpington, Barnevelder, and Wyandotte. The first group of peers had no drama between them. After that, there have been minor scuffles only when adding new chicks to the flock (or rather, when their mom stops actively protecting them as they grow up, and the elders remind them of the pecking order). Still no plucked feathers or blood though. My alpha hen (one of the Orps) maintains the order (I have no males) and is a very just ruler. She will break up any arguments and discipline whoever started it.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Oh wow. Just noticed my little murder muppets featured on the front page!

For anyone tuning in, they've actually simmered down a bit since I posted. I put in two new enrichment items that are pretty simple. One is a cage cup with crumble that can only be accessed from a specific perch. The other is a hanging chick feeder that also can only be accessed from a specific intersection of perches.

My bossy britches d'Uccle, who rarely eats at a feeder, (I'm not even sure how she's still alive) is obsessed with the new anti-gravity arrangements.

 

[DSJMHenDen]

Oh wow. Just noticed my little murder muppets featured on the front page!

For anyone tuning in, they've actually simmered down a bit since I posted. I put in two new enrichment items that are pretty simple. One is a cage cup with crumble that can only be accessed from a specific perch. The other is a hanging chick feeder that also can only be accessed from a specific intersection of perches.

My bossy britches d'Uccle, who rarely eats at a feeder, (I'm not even sure how she's still alive) is obsessed with the new anti-gravity arrangements.

Stealing that feeder from a perch idea! No big issues over on my flock, but never hurts to add an extra step to harassing the new pullets would you mind clarifying what a cage cup is? Thank you!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Stealing that feeder from a perch idea! No big issues over on my flock, but never hurts to add an extra step to harassing the new pullets would you mind clarifying what a cage cup is? Thank you!

Of course! These are the ones I use.

 

[KCGirl]

Chicken temperaments can vary a lot between breeds and between individuals within the same breed. And not all breeds get along well together. I picked my breeds to be easy-going, non-confrontational and generally submissive, so they’d be compatible with each other. They’ve been getting along fine for the past 5+ years. I have several generations total, of a mix of Orpington, Barnevelder, and Wyandotte. The first group of peers had no drama between them. After that, there have been minor scuffles only when adding new chicks to the flock (or rather, when their mom stops actively protecting them as they grow up, and the elders remind them of the pecking order). Still no plucked feathers or blood though. My alpha hen (one of the Orps) maintains the order (I have no males) and is a very just ruler. She will break up any arguments and discipline whoever started it.

Since you're experienced with introducing young ones... hoing you can make a suggestion of at what age to introduce and at what level of oversight? I've read to be there all day to mediate, or just to add at night and then have a space with food and water that only the young ones can enter. have 3 six-week old hens that went to sleep tonight in the big girl house on the roost along with the other 8 one-year year old hens. Wondering if I need to move them back to the young girl house since I won't be there to protect them in the am? At what age can you mix? They were in a kennel in the big girl house for 5 weeks, then in their own condo but within sight. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!