What am I doing wrong? What do I need to change?

[Raubkatze]

Last night I had a pretty scary experience. I have two very separate flocks of chickens. My five month old hens that are starting to lay or are laying, and my 10 week old pullets. Everybody free ranges from about 8 am to 8pm. The older hens come when they are called, and if one gets a mind of its own I can pretty easily walk up to her and grab her to return her to the run. The pullets are a different matter. I have to physically return them to the run 1 by 1. I typically put them in the coop, not the run as the older hens are out in the run doing their own thing. As I was doing this one of the pullets ran out the coop and into the run and all heck broke loose. The five hens all piled on her, pecking, clawing, and attacking her. I was able to grab her and get her away, and then watched in horror as a couple of the hens ate the feathers that had come off of the pullet that had been attacked. Thankfully the pullet is okay, just a scrape on her beak and some lost feathers.

They have been together for WEEKS now. Why would they suddenly attack a single pullet? I watched the adults go into the coop, and there was some pecking and pushing as the adults wanted up on the higher bars where the pullets had already roosted. Once everybody was settled down they all seemed okay together. When they are free ranging the pullets and the older hens never mix. What am I doing wrong that they two flocks are so at odds with each other? How do I protect my pullets from another attack like this?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Territory. Night time and roosting is always a thing even in an established, cohesive flock. Sometimes there will still be squabbling over roost spots. It sounds like you put the littlest ones in the coop manually then the big girls put themselves in the coop after, right? So you have kind of up-ended the pecking order by putting the subordinate birds to bed first. At that point, the run becomes the big hens’ territory. Try letting them put themselves up. If that doesn’t work the little ones will like end up together somewhere outside the coop and you can put them in after the bigger ones have had a chance to roost.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Holy cow, that must have been scary!

I agree with @BlindLemonChicken. I don't think chickens can generalize. So they're okay with the pullets while free-ranging, and they're okay if you put them to bed first, but in their minds, the pullets do not belong in the run!

I'd set up a see-no-touch pen inside the chicken run for the pullets. It's an extra step in your routine, but it would allow the adults to get used to the idea of the pullets being in there before bedtime.

 

[Raubkatze]

Territory. Night time and roosting is always a thing even in an established, cohesive flock. Sometimes there will still be squabbling over roost spots. It sounds like you put the littlest ones in the coop manually then the big girls put themselves in the coop after, right? So you have kind of up-ended the pecking order by putting the subordinate birds to bed first. At that point, the run becomes the big hens’ territory. Try letting them put themselves up. If that doesn’t work the little ones will like end up together somewhere outside the coop and you can put them in after the bigger ones have had a chance to roost.

So the routine is:

• Call the hens, they all come running and put themselves into the run. They start happily drinking and eating their food and wandering around the run (10’ x 20’).
• Track down the pullets. Start returning them to the coop 1 by 1. I don’t dare put them in the run because I have known from the start that that is asking for trouble.
• Get the hens in the coop.
• Use the fact that now everybody is in the coop to “fear of missing out” get the last pullet that is IMPOSSIBLE to catch (I have spent up to 45 mins some nights until I started doing this) into the run and then herded into the coop.

Last night the only thing different that happened is that one pullet made a run for it and got into the run, which caused the situation that happened, to happen. There is also the continued squabbling that happens at bedtime.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Have you broken out the black solider fly larvae for training the pullets? I've found it's the highest value treat you can offer. I use a special colorful cup and rattle them around before feeding. It only takes a couple sessions before they'll follow that rattle into the depths of hell (aka my lap for snuggles). You do have to be mindful of how many you feed them, as they're very high in fat.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Last night the only thing different that happened is that one pullet made a run for it and got into the run

Yeah that makes sense then because the hens cannot defend the coop space so they are defending the run as their territory. I have a similar flock of younger pullets and older hens and the big girls go in and come out before the younger ones.

 

[Raubkatze]

Yeah that makes sense then because the hens cannot defend the coop space so they are defending the run as their territory. I have a similar flock of younger pullets and older hens and the big girls go in and come out before the younger ones.

Ah okay, so I need to put the hens into the coop, and then the babies in the run and then the coop? Hopefully the hens won’t go after the babies as they come into the coop… I also think I will have to push back how late I put everybody away which makes me nervous too.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

First I would try letting them all do it themselves and just keeping an eye on them. The big girls will not likely leave the coop to go after the little ones because the coop is the prize spot. You can alternatively gather the pullets up and put them somewhere besides the coop until the big ones settle down. A few nights of that and then you can try letting them do it themselves again. The key is to let the big girls get into the coop first. I don’t know why but roosting spots are deeply ingrained in chicken hierarchy.

 

[coach723]

Some birds don't like to go in until it's getting pretty dark, and in general, the lower pecking order birds will go in last. So the young ones, by choice, will usually try to be in the last group. If they're staying out late, and you don't have light in the coop, try putting a light in there, a hand held or table top lantern can work. They will be drawn to the light as it gets dark. If your run is secure, then close that up and let them go in the coop at their own choice. If they need to be in the coop for security, use the light to encourage them to go in. Once in, shut the light off and they should all settle in a short period of time. It's always dramatic with integrating young ones, but unless you are going to live out there with them they have to figure it out.

 

[Raubkatze]

Some birds don't like to go in until it's getting pretty dark, and in general, the lower pecking order birds will go in last. So the young ones, by choice, will usually try to be in the last group. If they're staying out late, and you don't have light in the coop, try putting a light in there, a hand held or table top lantern can work. They will be drawn to the light as it gets dark. If your run is secure, then close that up and let them go in the coop at their own choice. If they need to be in the coop for security, use the light to encourage them to go in. Once in, shut the light off and they should all settle in a short period of time. It's always dramatic with integrating young ones, but unless you are going to live out there with them they have to figure it out.

My run door isn't automated, but my coop door is. My run has lights, but my coop doesn't. My biggest concerns are coyotes prowling near dusk which is why I have always brought them in around 8 pm before true dusk.