New pullet still scared of older hens

[missmimz]

I got 4 chicks back in March and 3 turned out to be Roos and had to be re-homed. I now just have one 16 week old Amerucana and 2 older hens that are around 3 years old. All the birds had been free roaming together but the new birds and the old birds weren't really interacting and I had them sleeping in separate coops. Now that I only have the lavender Amerucana she seems lonely and scared and when I let them out of the coop this morning she was cowering in the corner of the coop (she's now in the coop with the big girls). Will this get better? Is there anything I can do to help her bond with the older birds? I feel bad the other birds she was bonded with all ended up being roos

 

[rIrs roost]

If you have a cage big enough for her ,water and feed you could put her inside the coop with them for a few weeks so they could all see each other but couldn't pick on her. The do have to get through the pecking order though. Also is your coop big enough for them? The ones that tractor supply sells all are misleading on how many they will hold

 

[missmimz]

Yeah the coop is big enough for all of them. Originally the older girls were being very aggressive so I opted to just put the new birds in a separate coop temporarily. The smaller crate is a good idea. I have a small dog crate that's big enough so I think i'll do that for a week or so just to help protect her since she's not used to the bigger coop yet. The older birds don't seem really aggressive, but they aren't being very friendly either.

 

[rIrs roost]

Good luck. I hate the whole pecking order thing and mean hens. I know that that' just natural for them though. Some hens will take up for themselves so I leave them in there to work it out. But when one just gets cornered and sits and takes it, You have to step in like you did. Sure wished they could all just get along with each other from the start.

 

[Mrs. K]

Birds that are not laying due to youth, are much below laying hens in pecking order. When the young bird begins laying, she will be more of the flock. That and cold weather, when you are cold, you are not so picky who is sitting next to you!

 

[aart]

yes, pullets and hens usually don't mix much until the pullets start laying.

This might help you with your situation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/