Introductions with pullets!

[ANiceKaren]

I know this topic has been discussed so much and I did it myself once last Fall but either I forgot or I just have a more aggressive girl this year! Either way I have 5, 9 week old pullets and only 2 full grown hens. My girls have all been living side by side in a big run separated by chicken wire for about 3 weeks now. So they see each other a lot but cannot touch. I’ve just recently tried to free range them together and omg… my one hen Mildred (black sex link) goes into full attack mode! The last time 2 times I tried she pulled out about 8 feathers from some poor pullet! Never any blood and she usually withdraws after a good peck but one time she didn’t… she just kept going after them! Should I continue to try and free range? Let them figure it out? Seems my babies are not smart enough to run? Haha! Will it get better? Any tips? I don’t recall it being this mean last time.. when Mildred was a baby… go figure thanks for the help!

 

[Swbertrand1]

That's a tough one. If it were me, and I were trying to integrate this group, I'd give it until the pullets are at least 3-4 months old for full integration. They'll be bigger, stronger, a little wiser, and can better handle an unwanted attack from an adult hen.

If you're set on doing it now, maybe remove Mildred from the evening free-ranging mix and see how the 9 week-olds do with just the other hen. Maybe Mildred can learn from her adult friend that the pullets are not a threat. It sounds like Mildred is the alpha of two as well, and her position as "leader" is threatened by new additions, so she's really just letting everyone know exactly who the boss is moving forward.

For some reason, we never seem to have a problem with integration into our flock, and we're thankful for that...

 

[InterestingChickens]

I know this topic has been discussed so much and I did it myself once last Fall but either I forgot or I just have a more aggressive girl this year! Either way I have 5, 9 week old pullets and only 2 full grown hens. My girls have all been living side by side in a big run separated by chicken wire for about 3 weeks now. So they see each other a lot but cannot touch. I’ve just recently tried to free range them together and omg… my one hen Mildred (black sex link) goes into full attack mode! The last time 2 times I tried she pulled out about 8 feathers from some poor pullet! Never any blood and she usually withdraws after a good peck but one time she didn’t… she just kept going after them! Should I continue to try and free range? Let them figure it out? Seems my babies are not smart enough to run? Haha! Will it get better? Any tips? I don’t recall it being this mean last time.. when Mildred was a baby… go figure thanks for the help!

Keep on doing the see but no touch method. Try 'free ranging' them again, but be on the watch so if your hen gets too aggressive you can intervene. Do this with a few day intervals between. Some hens just won't accept younger chickens to be part of their flock. You may just have to have two separate runs/coups.

You could also try 'free ranging' the younger group with just Mildred. This way she might feel less inclined to attack as she is not surround by her flock. I did this with my alpha hen as her other flock members were recovering from bumblefoot and just to be safe we put them in a clean coup for a while. She really bonded with the chicks and is now very good with them.

 

[ANiceKaren]

That's a tough one. If it were me, and I were trying to integrate this group, I'd give it until the pullets are at least 3-4 months old for full integration. They'll be bigger, stronger, a little wiser, and can better handle an unwanted attack from an adult hen.

If you're set on doing it now, maybe remove Mildred from the evening free-ranging mix and see how the 9 week-olds do with just the other hen. Maybe Mildred can learn from her adult friend that the pullets are not a threat. It sounds like Mildred is the alpha of two as well, and her position as "leader" is threatened by new additions, so she's really just letting everyone know exactly who the boss is moving forward.

For some reason, we never seem to have a problem with integration into our flock, and we're thankful for that...

Thank you! I was planning on waiting a bit longer or trying a few times again with very full supervision Mildred JUST became top hen due to my other girl passing away a few weeks ago.. that could adding to it!