What to do about Mean Girls?

[sezjasper]

I've got three hens, one year old, who are determined not to accept the five babies, now 14 weeks old, that I got this spring. The hens free range in the yard all day and the babies are mostly confined to their coop & run. My big girls will go up to the run and peck at the hardware cloth. If they hear the babies hiding in the coop, they will go up and peck at the outside of the coop. The times I've had the babies and the big girls out together have not gone well. I've tried distracting the hens with their favorite treats, which they will ignore so they can chase and peck at the babies. It always ends with me having to rescue one or more babies. This has been going on for about three weeks now. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[nova022]

I had a similar problem and all the tried true methods did not work, so I waited until they were 18 wks and were basically the same size. Then I added one older hen to the new ones. When they got along I added another older hen to the group. I did this until all the older hens rejoined the flock. It took a little longer, but they got along with little pecking and fighting.

 

[sezjasper]

Thank you, Nova...I wish I had talked with you before moving my big girls to the new shed/coop! I may end up using your suggestion. After I posted earlier today, the afternoon went surprisingly well. We had a few incidents but they resolved quickly and I didn't have to intervene. I am going to let them try to work it out for a few more days before I give up. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

 

[nova022]

My fingers are crossed for you. I think you will do fine. Having a few more new girls than old helps too. It spreads the fussing out a little so that they don't concentrate on one and gang up on it. Good Luck!.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Nova is right, waiting until all the birds are the same size (18 wks) is the way to go. Now that you've introduced them, however, and there's no going back--have you thought about putting peepers on the older girls to give the younger a fighting chance? The pinless kind is pretty easy to put on, doesn't hurt the bird, and comes off very easily. You can buy them from lots of places, but here's one source:
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/pinless_peepers.html

Instead of buying their pliers, which are very expensive, you can also use snap-ring pliers from any hardware store.