Integration drama

[starlitchicken]

Well, I started integrating my 3 month old little ones with my 4 grown chickens on Saturday. One of the littles was found dead today. She was pecked to death and my favorite one.
Any ideas to narrow down who are the bullies are ? Any ideas on not losing any more littles ? This is traumatic for me.

 

[LaFleche]

I am sorry for your loss.
How did you introduce them? For how long were they in a see but no touch area getting used to each other?

 

[LaFleche]

Could you post some pictures of your setup to give us an idea about the space?

Several feeders and waterers well distributed and some hidden behind clutter will help to avoid food guarding behaviour which can leave the littles starving.

 

[starlitchicken]

I am sorry for your loss.
How did you introduce them? For how long were they in a see but no touch area getting used to each other?

The grown hens were able to see but not touch them for 6 weeks. We just opened the barrier and let them in during the daytime.

 

[LaFleche]

For how long did you stay with them to supervise the integration process?
Do the littles have openings in the partition where they would be able to slip through to get away from the big girls?

ETA: Was the victim a Silkie or Polish?

 

[starlitchicken]

Could you post some pictures of your setup to give us an idea about the space?

Several feeders and waterers well distributed and some hidden behind clutter will help to avoid food guarding behaviour which can leave the littles starving.

There is only one waterer. But several feeders. I don’t have a picture of the set up right now. Maybe the little got attacked for drinking off of the waterer.

 

[starlitchicken]

For how long did you stay with them to supervise the integration process?
Do the littles have openings in the partition where they would be able to slip through to get away from the big girls?

ETA: Was the victim a Silkie or Polish?

No she was an Andalusian. They have one tunnel.

 

[LaFleche]

Let me tag @azygous who might be able to solve the issue and give some advise on how to improve your situation.

In any case, I would add two more waterers to ensure they can drink even if they might be kept away from the one the big girls prefer. And add another escape opening in case one of the big girls blocks the tunnel.

 

[fluffycrow]

May I suggest adding more clutter to the run. @Mrs. K has a thread about it
Thread 'A cluttered run' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/
. It helps break line of sight. My biggest tip is make the exists way bigger. Do try and add more waterers and feeders

 

[azygous]

It's unusual for a nearly grown chicken to be killed by the flock. I urge you not to take the death at face value, but to investigate to find out actual cause of death.

Things that can lead to a death in the flock and have it appear the others killed the chicken:

A sneaky predator getting into the coop or run and killing the chicken. Look at the body for signs of teeth marks (chickens have no teeth) or fang marks.

Illness causing weakness and vulnerability. Feel the body along the keel bone. A sharp keel bone indicates starvation and illness. Chickens can attack a sick chicken and also will "mess" with the body of a chicken that died of illness. Look inside the mouth for signs of mucous clogging the throat or any abnormal signs that a poisonous insect may have killed it.

How long had it been since you last checked on the chickens and finding this one dead?