Threat to my chicks

[KingBardRock]

So here is the problem i am having. I have 12 year old hens that I am trying to integrate with my 23 new chicks. They are 7/8 weeks old now and it is time that they get out of the brooder. I started with the brooder in my basement where it was warm and dry, a few weeks ago I moved the entire brooder out of the basement and into the corner of the coop. (They were starting to smell really bad even cleaning it every day). They have been in the same coop as the year old hens for approx 3 weeks now and so I figured that I would start introducing them the older hens one at a time with the new chicks.

I did not have a problem till i got to my grey hen. She appears to be the Alpha hen and is very aggressive and tried taking a few of the baby chicks heads off. She removed feathers from my poor baby rooster and I am not sure what to do at this point. She is the only one who is actually trying to harm the babies. The rest of the hens don't seem to care either way if they are there or not. They peck lightly at them here and there and as long as they either run off or just ignore them then they go on their way. I love all my chickens and do not really want to have to put this one down but she has been an aggressive chicken since she was a chick. She looks like a rooster and we thought she was till she laid an egg right in front of us! Any ideas, thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I really want to get the babies out of the brooder since there are 23 of them and they are getting bigger.

This hen has even tried attacking them through the fence to the hen yard. We have been letting them out into the hen yard each day so that the rest of the chickens can get to see them and know that they are part of the flock. Input is much appreciated.
Oh, one last thing. I am not sure what kind of chickens I have from last year since my batch got mixed up at the post office with someone else’s. I know that I have mostly Rhode Island Reds and some black ones, a pure white one, a white with black streaks a few browns, and then the grey one. The grey one that is the problem has a huge comb and waddle ( I think that is what it i called) she is light grey in color and if i can figure out how to upload a picture from my phone i will send one later today.

Just wanted to add that if anyone in the Lebanon, CT area wants to take her I would be happy to give her to a new home instead of some of the alternatives I am sure I will hear. My girlfriend does not want me to outright kill her but if she keeps attacking the smaller chicks it just might come to that. I have given her multiple chances in the last week to behave around them.

 

[keesmom]

You could list her on craigslist. If she's only a year old I expect it wouldn't take long to rehome her.

 

[KingBardRock]

I thought about putting her up on craigs list as well but wanted to see if there was anyway to change her behavior towards the new comers first.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have read to pull her from the flock for two weeks. Let the other flock settle with year old hens and the new chicks. Then when the big flock is getting along, then add her back in.

I don't know if it will work, but will tell you that a flock that is getting along is a pleasure, and one that isn't getting along a grief. Adding and removing birds will upset the flock dynamic. When you add her back in, the idea is that she will be the strange bird, and lower down the pecking order. But it will ruffle your flock again.

MrsK

 

[KingBardRock]

I will have to prep a jail cell for her then and see if that works. I really do not want to put her down and I do not think that getting rid of her will be the answer either. I do have a freind that has other chickens I wonder if I can put her in his "brooder" section of his coop for the next few weeks. Maybe the different farm will do her good since she will have to start over all together there.