Older chicken bullying new ones

[whatbeginsabetnotthat]

Hey everyone! Second problem in an hour Thank you so much to everyone who has already helped me with my rooster. Anyways, I have a new problem. We recently built a chicken coop. We had four hens in an omelet, and had ten new girls living in our garage. We moved the new girls into the coop first, and then slowly introduced the older hens into the flock. We had to separate them before because the older hens were being huge bullies to the other girls. They couldn’t go into the run, couldn’t eat or drink when the older hens were around, couldn’t go foraging, were being pecked, etc. We moved the older hens back into the new coop again a couple weeks ago and are having the same problem again. Any advice?

 

[TOMTE]

How did you introduce them? Did you just throw them in with each other? Slow introductions using the see don't touch method are recommended. You can use (a) dog crate(s) and put either the older chickens or the younger ones in, inside the run, so they can see and interact with each other but can't touch each other.

 

[whatbeginsabetnotthat]

We introduced them through foraging times. My friends have been raising chickens for years and said that you have to put them together in foraging times. We also put our omelet about fifteen feet from the run in full view, so that they could see/hear each other

 

[TOMTE]

We introduced them through foraging times. My friends have been raising chickens for years and said that you have to put them together in foraging times. We also put our omelet about fifteen feet from the run in full view, so that they could see/hear each other

What works for one person won't necessarily work for another. See-don't-touch is honestly the safest and most effective way to integrate new flock members. They need to learn to recognize each other as part of the flock without having the chance to fight and drive each other off. Wire cages are the best way to do that because they can interact, but there's a barrier between them to prevent bullying.

 

[TOMTE]

Here's an article about the see-don't-touch introduction method!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...using-the-“see-but-don’t-touch”-method.67839/

 

[whatbeginsabetnotthat]

So is it okay if I removed them and put them in a wire cage in the run even though they have already been introduced? And I just brought home a five month old cockerel yesterday; what should I do with him? How long should I keep them in the cage and not physically interacting with the other ladies?? Sorry for all the questions!!

 

[whatbeginsabetnotthat]

Here's an article about the see-don't-touch introduction method!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-“see-but-don’t-touch”-method.67839/

Tysm!!

 

[TOMTE]

So is it okay if I removed them and put them in a wire cage in the run even though they have already been introduced? And I just brought home a five month old cockerel yesterday; what should I do with him? How long should I keep them in the cage and not physically interacting with the other ladies?? Sorry for all the questions!!

The article should answer most of your questions. In general, 1-2 weeks is good enough to keep them separated, but you need to watch them and make that decision for yourself. Usually once they go about their business as usual without making a big deal about each others presence, that's a good sign that they're ready to mingle. They'll still quarrel as they figure out the new pecking order, but they shouldn't be trying to kill each other.

How old are your older hens? When introducing a cockerel, the more years they have on him the better. They'll teach him how to behave himself and respect his ladies. Pullets and younger hens (1-2 years old) will have a harder time managing him and his hormones. Still use the see-don't-touch method with him of course.

 

[whatbeginsabetnotthat]

The article should answer most of your questions. In general, 1-2 weeks is good enough to keep them separated, but you need to watch them and make that decision for yourself. Usually once they go about their business as usual without making a big deal about each others presence, that's a good sign that they're ready to mingle. They'll still quarrel as they figure out the new pecking order, but they shouldn't be trying to kill each other.

How old are your older hens? When introducing a cockerel, the more years they have on him the better. They'll teach him how to behave himself and respect his ladies. Pullets and younger hens (1-2 years old) will have a harder time managing him and his hormones. Still use the see-don't-touch method with him of course.

My older hens are two almost three years old. Our cockerel so far hasn’t had any trouble with our younger pullets, which are four months(don’t know if that makes a difference)