i have turned into the worlds biggest wuss-- or a nut case

If you build a very large coop/run they should have enough room to run away from each other. I had the same problem when I introduced 2 new girls but it got solved when I let them free range all summer. It gave them a chance to get away from the older girls and they have their place now. Still get pecked, but only enough to maintain the pecking order.

Maybe you've gone a little soft....

 

Don't feel bad. I worry constantly about certain chickens' health in my coops. There are always one or two who seem to bear the brunt of the lowest on the totem pole mentality and I hear a lot of pained "squawks!"

At some point, such as last night when my only silkie was being particularly cruelly victimized by my bantam cochins, I give in and move them about..."Nee Nee", our silkie is now in a large cage for the time being until we can enlarge our coops...I currently have one BR and my andalusian hen segregated with a roo so that the three are the only birds in the biggest coop because the BR is so aggressive and dominant she beats all the other hens to pieces. The andalusian, while more submissive and lower on the "order" can at least tolerate the mean beast BR...for now...

Many people say that the pecking order will be established within two weeks but that has simply not been the case here. Nee Nee had been with the cochin girls for a month and the bullying was getting worse and worse. I finally had enough when i realized they were chasing her about and away from the food so that she is skin and bones now. I got sick of feeling helpless hearing her give pained cries and seeing her segregated by herself, all the while she would watch the others warily and run whenever even the rooster approached. You are not alone and if you are a "softie" then I am too.

It got so bad recently in my largest coop that I had to remove several birds because the BR AND andalusian (she was the aggressor here and partnered up with the BR) literally kept the new girls confined to the coop and wouldn't let them into the run. They couldn't eat, drink, and several began bleeding on the legs, faces, anywhere the brutes could gash them with their beaks. Enough was enough and if I didn't love my BR for her egg production or my andalusian for her sweetness to humans they would both be cooked into a casserole.

 

Call it soft...but I call it being humane. It is hard for a flock to take on one or even two new birds. I have tried this before and did not have good luck. Adding 3 birds they may have banded together.

I recently added 7 birds to a flock of 18. ANd they still had issues to work out.

Build it and get her some friends.

 

I thought if you took out the bully ones and keep them separete for a few days and reintroduce them to the flock that that would change the pecking order. The bullys wouldnt be in the top anymore. Just what I read somewhere.

 

Quote:This worked for me the last time I did an integration.

Imp

 

Quote:This worked for me the last time I did an integration.

Imp

Worked for us too! Might be worth a shot!

 

Quote:This worked for me the last time I did an integration.

Imp

Worked for us too! Might be worth a shot!

Good to know. I may get another two and my four are so sweet & nice to each other I still haven't figured out their pecking order. Kinda afraid to upset the apple cart.

 

space, space and more space! I have grown my flock from 4 to 10, 2 birds at a time, free ranging even just for the days, allows the recipients of abuse to leg it away, the bullies will only follow so far and then think "well that told them!" So, let them run about your yard if possible, even if it is just for a few hours per day