Need advice on chicken "bullying" and lack of eggs

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AmyWalton23

AmyWalton23

Hatching
5 Years
Aug 26, 2014
2
0
7
Hello. I have two issues I need some advice with. We started with 4 chickens last year and we added two more chickens this year. It seems the two clicks don't get along..AT ALL. I made the mistake of locking them all in the coop overnight and one of the younger chickens got beat up real bad. Her neck was open, bloody and feathers were missing. The older chickens sleep in our coop while the two others sleep perched on our porch. We live in MT and it will be winter soon and I don't know how to get them to get along. They will need to be in the coop to keep warm and I don't know if I can leave them in there and trust they won't kill the others. I also think this behavior is not allowing the new ones to lay eggs. They are old enough to start and have yet to lay an egg. We have searched all over to see if they were laying someplace else but no luck. Should I put my new chickens in the nesting boxes and keep the other chickens out to see if they will feel safe to lay??? Feel like the coop is there home??? I notice when they tried to get in the coop the chickens barricade the door and don't let them in. Any advice will be great.

Secondly, spring came and we got 4 eggs every day. Now the last few months, one of the chickens tends to sit all day in the coop in the nesting box and we are hardly getting any eggs. There are three nesting boxes but we can't seem to get them to lay like before. They have a great diet and eat well, not ill and no bugs on them. Should I kick her out of the coop to see if they all start laying again??? Again any advice will help.
Thank you
 
It sounds like you have a hen that has went broody. She will protect her nest, doing whatever it takes to keep the others out sometimes. Sometimes she will let others lay an egg & then sit on it to gather more eggs under her. Broody hens do not lay eggs as long as they are "incubating" the eggs. Does she have fake eggs under her? How old are the chickens?
 
Also want to add that our egg production has went down as well. Happens every year due to lack of daylight. You can use artificial lighting in their coop to compensate for the fact that they need 12+ hrs of daylight.
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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When mixing new chickens, it needs to be done slowly. You can't just throw them all in together as injury and even death can occur. The new birds need to be kept in a cage or fenced of area within the flock at all times. Everybody sees, nobody touches. Leave them this way for about 3 or 4 weeks. This gives them plenty of time to get to know each other from behind wire.

After this time, you can mix them together. You will need to add more feeders and waterers as the older flock can guard these areas and starve the birds out. Add more nesting boxes as well. Make sure you are adhering to the 5 square foot rule per bird in the coop and 10 square foot rule per bird in the run.

You may need to cage an aggressive hen at first after mixing to help the new birds adjust. If all else fails and you have a brutal hen, you may have to resort to pinless peepers. I have a hen that wore them on and off for years to control her aggression.

Good luck with your flock and welcome to ours!
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X2 you have to do this slowly. Keep them separated but still within each others' sight for at least two weeks. Then let them mix. Expect fighting but if there is bloodshed you need to interfere. Chickens are very fierce when it comes to this stuff.

You also need to make sure there are plenty of feeders and waterers as top chickens usually try to hog the feeders and starve the new birds. Hideaways are also imperative. Make sure they have lots of room. (3-5 square feet per bird in the coop and 8-12 square feet per bird in the run. More is always better.)

Also, if you are having an especially mean bird you may want to isolate her for a few hours to let her calm down. Then let her go with the flock again.

Good luck!
 

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