Older hen mean to chicks, help please

[eggsgalore]

As the chicks get older (5.5 weeks) I am running into more trouble.
So the mean baby rooster is being raised separately (see thread in raising chicks) and his destiny is still undetermined.
Now, one of the four older hens, not the mother, is bullying the other chicks. She will chase them anywhere when she knows where they are,even during free ranging. They alert each other as if it were a hawk. I am sure she has wounded the other one (other thread, sorry). She also doesn't allow them in the coop in the evening unless I am managing the whole process. It drives me nuts and this has never happened with other chick(en)s that I raised in the past in the same coop.
Will this get better? Both chicks and hens form different groups during free ranging., even though one hen raised them.
I am sorry for all the questions, I have never had such a mess and the harmony that I loved so much is gone.

 

[jessica117]

I've never had luck with putting ones that small with my full grown hens. I will let the hens out to free range part of the day, then the little ones later. I always try to wait till they're big enough to "pick" back. They'll still have to establish the pecking order, but I have fewer problems once they're a little bigger.

Good luck!

Jess

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I've never let my chicks into the coops and runs wiith the others for the very reasons you are having problems with, I keep mine penned seperate, but where both ages can see each other.. and wait til they are almost the same size and can defend themselves...Sometimes there is also the issue of the older hens starving the younger ones out, so extra feeders and waterers to make sure this doesn't happen...