Long story short. I had a flock of 4 hens and a rooster. A hen died and I got 2 young pullets which i kept separate from the others but within vision and i would let them freerange together daily (sometimes for an hour, sometimes for significantly longer). Three weeks ago when the pullets were approx 4 months old I put them in with the rest of the flock and they were promptly bullied so they found refuge on top of the feeder (small area, perhaps 1 square foot) and have stayed there ever since. If I was present after nightfall, I put the young ones in the coop with the others, if not, I let them be on the feeder in the run.
Cop and run are rather small by American standards. Run is approx 30 square foot and coop is significantly smaller but it is designed for 6 hens and is acceptable by European standards. In the early days, one of my older hens would jump up to pick feathers off one of the pullets so I segregated her for 3 or 4 days yet let her freerange with the others whenever I was present. Even when free-ranging, this particular bully as well as another one have a go at the young ones if they get too close. I put the bully back in after 4 days, bullying persisted but to a lesser degree and since there were no injuries, I let them be. Lately, the rooster has taken a liking to the young ones and kind of intervenes if they are being chased by the hens so i thought that they were finally integrating.
yesterday one of young ones laid her first egg and poor thing had nowhere else to go so she laid on the top of the feeder (a large tupperware-type container). So I decided that I have to start putting the young ones inside the coop every night until they get used to it even though it's a 40-minute round trip and it's the last thing I feel like at 9pm. This morning I realised that yet again, the bully jumped up to peck feathers off one of the young ones so I segregated her again. My question is this: should I let her freerange with the others when I let them out or will that retain her position within the flock? And how long should I segregate her for? furthermore, her sister seems to be a bully too though to a lesser extent. Should I isolate her too?
Cop and run are rather small by American standards. Run is approx 30 square foot and coop is significantly smaller but it is designed for 6 hens and is acceptable by European standards. In the early days, one of my older hens would jump up to pick feathers off one of the pullets so I segregated her for 3 or 4 days yet let her freerange with the others whenever I was present. Even when free-ranging, this particular bully as well as another one have a go at the young ones if they get too close. I put the bully back in after 4 days, bullying persisted but to a lesser degree and since there were no injuries, I let them be. Lately, the rooster has taken a liking to the young ones and kind of intervenes if they are being chased by the hens so i thought that they were finally integrating.
yesterday one of young ones laid her first egg and poor thing had nowhere else to go so she laid on the top of the feeder (a large tupperware-type container). So I decided that I have to start putting the young ones inside the coop every night until they get used to it even though it's a 40-minute round trip and it's the last thing I feel like at 9pm. This morning I realised that yet again, the bully jumped up to peck feathers off one of the young ones so I segregated her again. My question is this: should I let her freerange with the others when I let them out or will that retain her position within the flock? And how long should I segregate her for? furthermore, her sister seems to be a bully too though to a lesser extent. Should I isolate her too?
