How to help a socially inept pullet integrate?

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I have a nearly 4 month old pullet who has lived in the coop with the flock since she was around 2 weeks old. Her & her 4 siblings were brooded in a dog crate in the coop where they could all see the older chickens. The bigger they got, the more time they spent out of the brooder. Eventually they graduated from the brooder to the baby roost bar, and then to the big roost alongside the older chickens. They were always their own “sub flock” within the flock. When the chickens were confined to their run, the “babies” would spend a lot of time hanging out in the coop, but when they were able to free range they were happy to be out and about with the rest of the chickens- they just always kept some distance.

Then her siblings (all cockerels) suddenly took a profound interest in the other ladies and began hanging out with the flock, leaving this pullet hanging out alone in the coop. She grew more skittish (she’s overly fearful of the older hens- runs and hides from them even when they aren’t paying her any attention). We ended up having to move the cockerels to their own pen, and she withdrew even more. I did try penning her in a separate enclosure with one of the kinder hens, but she was terrified to get anywhere near that hen.

Now I have a new brood of 3 week old babies in the coop brooder. This pullet has become almost obsessed with them. She stands right next to their brooder when it’s closed up, and when the babies are out, she terrorizes them, chasing them around the coop and run (granted she rarely makes contact with them). It’s like she loves the babies, but she loves to hate them, too.

We selected one cockerel to keep and returned him to the flock (her favorite) and she’s happy to have him back, but still hangs with the babies whenever the older girls are in the run or when the cockerel leaves to visit other ladies. As long as she doesn’t hurt the babies, which it doesn’t seem she is, then I guess it’s not a big deal. I’m more worried about her inability to socialize with adult hens.

The other hens aren’t friendly towards her, but they’re not terrorizing her, either. They basically ignore her. If she gets near they’ll run her off, but she seldom gets close e enough for that to happen. Is there anything I can do to help her settle in? Should I consider rehoming her? Does she just need more time?

 

[azygous]

Four months is still pretty young and inexperienced. Usually, such a pullet has a posse of other same-aged pullets to give her company and confidence. That she finds herself all alone is probably setting her back some on social development. Keep her away from the chicks until they reach similar size. She's developing a bad habit of bullying that needs to be discouraged. This is typical of a young pullet, but no need to tolerate the behavior.

What this pullet needs, I believe, is to develop self confidence. I have a program to do just this and here is the article I wrote laying out how to go about it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

It requires a partitioned safe enclosure within the run so she can still be part of the flock, but she will have this space entirely to herself during the day. She will still roost with the others at night. The article will fill in the details. It takes about three weeks, and I've never had a failure when the program is followed.

 

[aart]

I have had this scenario a couple times, a single remaining female from an older hatch.
Once she just joined the younger crew.
The other time there wasn't a younger hatch and she struggled to exist 'on her own'.
it wasn't pretty but she got by and eventually became part of the flock once she started laying, but was always kind of a loner. I don't worry much about them 'socializing', as long as they are not getting hounded and pounded.

 

[Shadrach]

I think you've done the right thing by keeping her with one of her brothers.
I've had a couple of solitary hens who didn't quite fit and starting their own tribe was a partial solution. Let her be an aunt to the new chicks. Maybe this will play out well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can always find exceptions with any behaviors of living animals, but in my flock it is pretty normal for mature hens to outrank an immature pullet in the pecking order. When the immature bird invades the personal space of the mature bird they just might get pecked.

If she gets near they’ll run her off, but she seldom gets close e enough for that to happen.

Just like this. It usually doesn't take them long to learn to avoid the older birds.

Is there anything I can do to help her settle in? Should I consider rehoming her? Does she just need more time?

She needs more time. Typically with mine they are accepted into the ranks of the mature about the time they start laying. Until then mine form a sub-flock and simply avoid the adults.

Yours being a single chicken makes it worse. Chickens are social animals and want to be with other chickens. Single birds are often more challenging to integrate because of this. They want to be with the others but get punished if they try.

The same type of thing is going in between the single pullet and the chicks. She wants to be with them but if they get close she wants to peck them. Their logic doesn't always work the same way as ours.

My goal in integrating is that no one gets hurt. Nothing more complex than that. All that one big flock stuff will eventually work itself out when thy mature. Your situation sounds pretty normal. Keep an eye om them in case it does get violent but I'd let them continue as they are until you see a need to isolate her. I would not rehome her at this point.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Four months is still pretty young and inexperienced. Usually, such a pullet has a posse of other same-aged pullets to give her company and confidence. That she finds herself all alone is probably setting her back some on social development. Keep her away from the chicks until they reach similar size. She's developing a bad habit of bullying that needs to be discouraged. This is typical of a young pullet, but no need to tolerate the behavior.

What this pullet needs, I believe, is to develop self confidence. I have a program to do just this and here is the article I wrote laying out how to go about it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

It requires a partitioned safe enclosure within the run so she can still be part of the flock, but she will have this space entirely to herself during the day. She will still roost with the others at night. The article will fill in the details. It takes about three weeks, and I've never had a failure when the program is followed.

I like this idea and it makes a lot of sense. Her fear is definitely more about her than it is about the other hens. I’ll have to see if I can fit another enclosure inside the run along with the brooders.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I think you've done the right thing by keeping her with one of her brothers.
I've had a couple of solitary hens who didn't quite fit and starting their own tribe was a partial solution. Let her be an aunt to the new chicks. Maybe this will play out well.

She’s definitely doing better with the reform of her rooster. When he’s around, she doesn’t harass the babies. And the two of them together with all the babies is quite precious.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

An update for anyone interested or facing a similar situation- returning her brother to the flock made a huge difference, and now she’s hanging with the adult birds most of the time. She’s still bottom of the pecking order, still loves to be around the chicks, and still pecks at the chicks, but they’ve all figured it out. I decided to trust the chicks. Although she harassed them the most, they were less fearful of her. Some of my older hens, they won’t get within five feet of. But with this hen, they were always getting pecked, and I realized they didn’t care that much because she wasn’t really hurting them.

My roo loves the chicks, too. So the two of them do still split their time between the chicks and the adult hens, but everyone seems happy.

This is a pic of awkward Ash (foreground) hanging out near the other ladies.

 

[TropicalChickies]

An update for anyone interested or facing a similar situation- returning her brother to the flock made a huge difference, and now she’s hanging with the adult birds most of the time. She’s still bottom of the pecking order, still loves to be around the chicks, and still pecks at the chicks, but they’ve all figured it out. I decided to trust the chicks. Although she harassed them the most, they were less fearful of her. Some of my older hens, they won’t get within five feet of. But with this hen, they were always getting pecked, and I realized they didn’t care that much because she wasn’t really hurting them.

My roo loves the chicks, too. So the two of them do still split their time between the chicks and the adult hens, but everyone seems happy.

This is a pic of awkward Ash (foreground) hanging out near the other ladies.

Nice!