Ostracized Barred Rocks ):

[TucsonAZ]

I bought a roo and 5 australorp hens from a breeder, later I decided I wanted more so I got a pair of australorps and 2 barred rock pullets. Well, I swapped some pens around and decided to put everybody together in one big pen, being a new pen for everybody I figured I would be fine adding them all together. Everything seemed fine to me but the next morning the newer roo was dead, I was fairly upset with myself but my time machine is broken so it is what it is. Now, the australorps are all great together and the one pullet blended in fine but the barred rocks perch together and away from the others and seem to be at the very bottom pecking order wise. I'm posting this to learn from whatever mistakes I've made so advice, even advice I won't want to hear/criticism is more than welcome.

 

[Judy]

It's not unusual for a flock to form groups that tend to avoid each other. If no blood is being drawn now, hopefully things will go well enough. I have a roo and ten hens, and one hen stays off by herself most of the time, and roosts away from the group. I've seen other groups come and go as the makeup of the flock changed.