Introducing A Younger hen

[Pepsinshirley]

Hi there,
Looking for a little advice.
I had 2 red leghorns about 15months old unfortunately one had to be put to sleep. I have now introduced a 18 week old white leghorn to my 15month old hen who is constantly attacking/pecking her and the young hen seems really frightened. This happened last year and settled down after few days however both hens were roughly the same age at that time. I feel this time the older hen is a lot bigger and more powerful pecking, should I let them share the coop at night time or separate them?

 

[bekahubbell]

What I have done with my younger new ones is put them in a cage inside the older chickens pen until they become more of the same size. I am afraid of the bigger ones picking on the littler ones. Good luck

 

[Pepsinshirley]

Thanx for the reply ... Iv decided to keep the young hen in the house tonite

 

[aart]

Hi there,
Looking for a little advice.
I had 2 red leghorns about 15months old unfortunately one had to be put to sleep. I have now introduced a 18 week old white leghorn to my 15month old hen who is constantly attacking/pecking her and the young hen seems really frightened. This happened last year and settled down after few days however both hens were roughly the same age at that time. I feel this time the older hen is a lot bigger and more powerful pecking, should I let them share the coop at night time or separate them?

So this has been going on for a year?
Hens peck each other all the time, it's just how they roll...as long as the pecked hen is not bleeding or being chased and trapped/pinned down by her abuser, let them be.....or get a few more hens.

In a flock of two there's not much room to spread out the pecking order.

 

[Pepsinshirley]

Sorry I possibly phrased that part wrongly, what I meant was last year we introduced the hen (who passed away recently) we went through the same situation establishing the pecking order. The difference this time is that unlike last year there is a year age gap between both hens (the young 18 months) and therefore the older hen is a lot more powerful. She also gets really noisy when the young hen is in the coop. Last night we had to keep the younger indoors but Im wondering should I separate them until the young hen gets older?

 

[aart]

4 months old should be plenty large to defend herself, she'll have to learn how.
But, if you have not already done so:

Separate them physically but with visual access for a few weeks, then try physical integration again.

Make sure they have plenty of room, multiple feed/water stations, and places to hide and/or to get up and away from the bully. As long as there's no blood drawn and/or trapping/pinning down...let them work it out.

Every time you separate then reintroduce they have to start all over again.

Spend some time reading these threads, you'll find some tips and tricks from other folks' experiences