Is it common practice to keep one pair of chickens, separate from the others?

[Lamoor]

I have a mixed flock and recently got a beautiful pair of Lavender Orps, about 9 months old. After a few days I integrated them into the flock, and the rooster was very rough and picking on one particular hen, who was injured on her head by him and now is terrified of him. I then separated the LO pair so that they reside in a separate pen.

Ideally I just want one big happy flock..it seems a shame to keep these 2 by themselves. Should I give it a chance again, is there something I can do to avoid him picking on that hen, or other ones, or is it a given, and he should be kept away?

Do many people keep certain pairs separate?

 

[shmccarthy]

If I were you, I would separate the bully. I've heard that if a chicken is picking on another relentlessly like that, you can seclude the antaganizor, completely from the flock, and that will knock him down a few notches. He will be looked at as the "new guy" now and may not have such a big ego to uphold. You can try doing that and see how it works for you. I've heard that separating for a few days will usually work.
When I got my new BR rooster for breeding and asthetic purposes, I separated him from the flock for a while until I could integrate him. My other rooster chases him around, no blood so far. I also have a small 5x5 pen, in the run that I have 6 very young bantams in. The rest of my bantams, are with my flock but I have these ones separated because of how tiny the breeds are and could easily get hurt at this age if stepped on. I don't know when I will integrate them, but probably will be at full size. Once they grow out of there, I am using it as a select breeding pen. Usually everything goes smoothly when I move chickens to the small pen, but I think it depends also how well the flock already gets along.
Good luck

 

[Lamoor]

I actually did separate him, along with his lovely wife, and very very gradually allowed him more freedoms...tonight, there appears to be some reorganization of the pecking order and he has been quite a gentleman today. I have hope that Long John will be a wonderful mixed flock rooster with 12 hens to watch over (one of them sitting on eggs now).