Integration oddities or normal behavior?

[vantain]

My 8 chicks are now 5 1/2 weeks old. I have started allowing them to have supervised visits with two older hens I have. They are ISA Browns, and are just over two years old.
one of the older girls (Daisy) has turned out to be super chill with the new ones. She will gently peck at them, but only if they actually peck her first. The other one (Gwyneth) will peck them hard in the backside, and chase them away if they get anywhere within three feet of her. She is the lead hen of those two older girls.
Normally, I think they would be fine, as the littles can get away from Gwyneth. However, if anyone has seen my story of Precious, she is a blind Barred Rock that I have. I think she is fine with Daisy, but Gwyneth is not very forgiving. I’m concerned with integrating her with the older one for this one reason. She cannot defend herself, or get away if needed, because she can’t see where to run.
Any suggestions on how I might be able to make this work, or otherwise get this one hen to just be civil?
Here are my little chicks with Daisy.

 

[vantain]

I have eight 6 week old chicks (7 females,1 male) who I began integrating with two older (2yr old) hens a few days ago. At first it was only for limited time, and under supervision. Didn’t know what to expect. One of the hens has done very well, and I’m confident they could be left alone with her. More on that in a minute. The other hen (Gwyneth) is just not playing well. She pecks and chases all the chicks, and will continue to peck them mercilessly if cornered. Today I jailed her.

So that is problem A..how to deal with her, and get her to be more calm with the littles. Problem B may not be a problem at all, but something odd happened today. Maybe not odd...but the good hen (Daisy) went into full mothering mode today. She was clucking at them, showing them where the food was, putting them down for naps, getting them to dust bathe, scratch the ground...etc etc....ALL DAY long. I tried giving her her favorite meal worm treat, and she just took it and dropped it in front of the chicks, encouraging them to eat it. It was wonderful to see, but I’m wondering if this is normal behavior for a 6 week integration.

Tonight, when the chicks went in to their side of the coop, I discovered one missing. I found her, under the good hens wing. She protested when I removed the chick and put her on her side of the coop. The coop is partitioned right now while I’m working on the integration.

I do have blind chick, so this mothering has been a blessing for her. The good hen has been taking great care of her. Now, so far, the mothering has not resulted in protection from Gwyneth.

Any thoughts on how I should deal with this? Is Daisy, acting motherly, normal for integration like this?

 

[cottontail farm]

That picture is the BEST. Could you just leave them with Daisy until they get older and separate the other hen? Less work for you and happier chicks/Daisy.

 

[vantain]

Ok..so I switched over to the smaller pinless peepers. Gwyneth is an Isa Brown, and has a rather large comb. I initially used the larger peepers with the space for larger combs, but the wings of the peepers are also quite a bit larger than the smaller peepers. It was giving her problems with the waterer. I removed the bridge on the upper part of the smaller peepers, and put those on her last night. They seem to be strong enough without that bridge. Today, she is doing great, and drinking out of the waterer again. The downside is that she can see better, so she does peck at and chase the littles a bit more. However, the incidents are greatly reduced, as she still can't see directly in front of her, so it limits her ability to peck very hard. This has been a win win for us all. She mostly stays to herself now, and ignores anyone not directly next to her. She is with the flock though, and that is the important part. She is also not constantly harassing Precious, my blind chick. Yay!

As for Daisy, she's still in mother mode, and enjoying her life with the littles.

 

[vantain]

Here she is with her stylish head gear.

 

[vantain]

That's why I said ordinarily...the places to hide and preventing chicks from getting cornered by offering places to escape or hide is pretty standard and would likely work in your situation.

Here's an updated pic with the clutter. There is the ramp now, and that jungle gym tower they can be on or under. Not seen to the left is another small roost. I will be adding more. They do love jumping up and down off things. The other older 8x8 is run is to the right, behind what you can see of the coop. They now have access to the entire thing. I'm also adding another 8x8 to the other side of the coop next month.

 

[igorsMistress]

Awe, what a sweet girl Daisy is! I'd like to follow and see what suggestions you get. Ordinarily I'd say at least a month of see but no touch time. Regardless, if there's a way to add things to the run or yard where the chicks can get away from Gwyneth if she corners them, that has helped here. Just a piece of wood they can hide behind or a bucket or anything really. Also, food and water in multiple locations and out if sight of each other is helpful until the chicks get bigger.

 

[vantain]

Awe, what a sweet girl Daisy is! I'd like to follow and see what suggestions you get. Ordinarily I'd say at least a month of see but no touch time. Regardless, if there's a way to add things to the run or yard where the chicks can get away from Gwyneth if she corners them, that has helped here. Just a piece of wood they can hide behind or a bucket or anything really. Also, food and water in multiple locations and out if sight of each other is helpful until the chicks get bigger.

There are two runs, side-by-side. The new run for the chicks (8x14) and the existing run (8x8) for the big girls. They have been out in their new run for a week now. The only thing separating the two runs is some plastic poultry fencing, which is open now. There are places to get away. The blind chick is really the problem. She does not know when she is near Gwyneth, and then gets pecked and doesn’t know where to run...or runs and runs into something hard.

Here are two pics. The one with the bigger hens is their original run. You can see Gwyneth in her jail cell. You can also see the new run behind that. The second pic is the new run.

 

[Pghelp]

There are two runs, side-by-side. The new run for the chicks (8x14) and the existing run (8x8) for the big girls. They have been out in their new run for a week now. The only thing separating the two runs is some plastic poultry fencing, which is open now. There are places to get away. The blind chick is really the problem. She does not know when she is near Gwyneth, and then gets pecked and doesn’t know where to run...or runs and runs into something hard.

Here are two pics. The one with the bigger hens is their original run. You can see Gwyneth in her jail cell. You can also see the new run behind that. The second pic is the new run.
View attachment 2180989View attachment 2180988

Hmm. I wonder if you could try Daisy staying with the little ones in the larger run. Then you could let Miss Misbehaving have the smaller run instead of the jail box. If you think Daisy is totally safe with the little ones, that might be worth a try. Then when Gweneth rejoins, she'll be the new guy!

 

[vantain]

Even more progress. Yesterday, I was adding a new window to the coop, so I was out there most of the day. I let Gwyneth be with the others, for about 7 hours, and things were civil. No one spends any time near her, and because of that, there were few incidents. There were the normal pecks here and there, but overall it was good.

I’m still separating her for the night, but I may test that tonight. The only issue is that I have one long roost, so she may declare the entire thing as her own. I have 10 chickens, so I know I need to expand the roost situation.

I am hoping that She can co-exist with everyone, without barriers, very soon.