Red Star Hoodlums - Near the end of my patience

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i posted before about my young Red Star hens and how totally uncivilized they are about treats. i'm very slowly getting a handle on that. But here is my ongoing big problem. It's totally my fault that i waited too long to integrate them with my two older EE hens. Penny is doing fine holding her space as head chicken. But poor Grace is being run ragged. The RS don't just peck once to get the upper hand, they peck her virtually nonstop every moment of the day and into the night. She cowers in the far back corner of the pen or in a nest box, and they seek her out either one by one or in a group and attack her neck. If they have a huge mound of treats and she has one morsel, they chase her away from it.

i have tried to let them work things out themselves, but the constant screaming from Grace is rattling my world. i have tried a squirt gun, sitting in the pen and squirting the attackers when they go after her. That works only when i'm there. i tried picking up Grace and setting her on top of the offenders, to give her dominance. The minute i take her off, they attack her again. They even attack her when she's in my arms.

Today i reached the end of my rope and pulled them out, one by one, as they attacked her. Five of them are now in a small aviary. That will not work long term.

i wanted them for egg-laying, and they are GREAT at that. And we surely do need the eggs with our tight food budget. But i can't have Grace attacked every minute of every day for the rest of her life. Other than building (yet another) pen just for them, does anyone have any suggestions for resolving this issue? Are all Red Stars so brutal? Should i just get rid of them and start over with a new batch of pullets? i am so just tired from all this tension i don't know what to do.

 

[Mahonri]

Red stars are large and do make a good dual purpose breed. They stew up nice. My red star is huge... she'd probably cook up real well.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i am vegetarian, but am considering changing that just to accommodate these ladies.

i have thought about rehoming them, but want to try everything i can first. i really love their egg-laying reliability - an egg a day, rain or shine.

 

[Attack Chicken]

I have heard by taking them out in like the middle of the night and putting them in the pen and then in the morning he other chickens just think they roosted with them throughout the night. I don't know if this will work :\\

 

[lovemychix]

Sounds just like my Red Stars. Drive me nuts. Right under my feet everytime I am out there. Even peck my rubber boots over and over and over....

Good layers so I put up with it!
Mine are in now way aggressive though.

 

[Chicky Joy]

My Red Stars that I mentioned in your previous thread are crazy too. They aren't mean but I haven't tried to integrate any other birds into my flock. I'll have to try that in about a month because my Black Star chicks will be 12 weeks old and ready to go into the big coop. My Black Stars seem to have personalities just like my Red Stars. I'm hoping they'll hold their own with the big girls.

Is there any way you could keep Grace seperately? Do you have a rooster? I don't know if that would help but I suppose it may.

 

[mjdtexan]

Eggs are not vegetables. Eat the chicken

 

[lovemychix]

My red stars mixed well with my EE. No problems at all...but they were young too.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:

i'm an Ovo-Lacto-SometimesEatSomeFish Vegetarian.

But Kentucky Fried Red Stars are starting to look mighty good!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:
i have heard that if you integrate when one group is still young enough, they will fall into line. i meant to do that, but overestimated my ability to finish this larger coop and pen in time.

Keeping Grace separately might be an option. i also got some Hot Pick spray and will douse her neck feathers and see if that helps at all. i really would like to keep them all together, if at all possible.

And, i wonder if a rooster would help? i've never had one, or rather i adopt them out after hatch once i know they are a roo. We are allowed to have them here. i'm just afraid it might create a whole new set of problems. If anyone has any input on that, i would really appreciate it. Do roosters keep peace in a henhouse?