New pullets - Others gang up on them

[jus10inla]

So normaly when i buy new pullets, i keep them seperated for about a week , (i have a small coop in the big pen half open) then after a day or two of general pecking order. Everyone gets along. Well after the week of seperation, it went ok the first day, they all slept together last nite. Im assuming had good day today. However this evening around 4, one drew blood then it was on like donkey kong. All the other hens and one of the roos ganged up on her. I reseperated them again. I guess i will try another week or two.

My question is , could a roo be the original aggressor? Its about 6 months old. The pullets are about 3 months old .

I have an old hateful hen who i know is aggressive but i cant take her out . (My daughters original bird about 2.6-3 yrs old) if it would be up to me i woulda broomsticked her neck a yr ago!!

for anyone wondering,
pen is 20 ft x 20 ft.
Hens ; 8 ranging from 3 months to 7 month
2 about 2.5 yrs old
Roos; one about 2.5 yr old
Other 3, are 4-6 months old

 

[azygous]

It's in the job description for pullets to be bullied. They will survive.

You can make things a little easier for them by providing a complex run with partitions to run behind, higher perches to jump up to to get away, and shelves for additional feeding stations.

 

[sourland]

Too many cockerels may very well be the cause of the problems. If it were me, I would remove the 3 cockerels.

 

[mcdze]

.. it can happen fast its hard to tell what happened sometimes .. its not uncommon for a young new pullet to actually challenge a dominant hen even if just 'mock' playing lol .. they'll put them in their place .. roos are pretty dumb and anything exciting they just jump in, young ones usually arnt too aggressive . . its more work but if you let them in supervised until theres issues, then reseperate them again a few times over another week or two the transition will go better probably ..

 

[jus10inla]

It's in the job description for pullets to be bullied. They will survive.

You can make things a little easier for them by providing a complex run with partitions to run behind, higher perches to jump up to to get away, and shelves for additional feeding stations.

i did close off there hiding spot today. Didnt think of that

they hsve perches up to 6 ft to get on with roosts every ft.

and my feeder is 4 ft wide so no problems there

 

[jus10inla]

Too many cockerels may very well be the cause of the problems. If it were me, I would remove the 3 cockerels.

trust Me, id broomstick & pull up on feet 1 of them real quick.. but again its the oldest bird & daughter favorite I have no need for it as out of all eggs hatched he fertilized, over half were roos.

i wanted to only keep 2 total; undecided on which of the other 2 are gettin gumbo pot yet as i just found out they were roos.