What to do?

[Misty Rubner]

I have a mixed age flock (4-1 1/2 year olds and 8-14 week olds). The big girls have been free range for about the last three months and the little girls have been free range for several weeks. The two groups keep mostly to themselves but cross paths in the yard. Today a coyote got one of my big girls so they now need to be kept in their large coop/run. The big girls are not so excited about their new roommates and one in particular (BFF of the one killed this morning) is chasing them, plucking and eating their feathers. Should I coop her separately and hope for an attitude adjustment? Should I leave it be and monitor them closely allowing time to settle? I don’t want to cause her more stress after what she witnessed this morning.
Also, I had planned on waiting a few more weeks before merging the two flocks. What is the recommended age to do this? The little girls are slightly smaller than the big girls but not by much.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Make sure they have plenty of room to escape the bigger chicken. I would just leave them and watch closely to make sure she doesn't do anything major. If the problem persists, separate the mean one.

 

[Mrs. K]

have hideouts, multiple feeders, roosts, platforms. Clutter it up so chickens can get out of sight of each other.

If the mean one does not calm down, pull her out for a few days.

Mrs K

 

[sourland]

If it were me I would separate out the aggressive hen for several days and allow the others to adjust to one another before reintroducing her to the flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can try any of these approaches, they are all good suggestions and any might work. I'm not watching that behavior to judge how bad or threatening it really is and I don't know what your coop/run looks like. I'd worry a lot less about stressing that hen out more than I would about her possibly killing another chicken.

What is the best age it integrate them? You can get all kinds of opinions on that and they can all be right. So much depends on how much room you have in the coop and run or free range, how you manage that room and the chickens, flock make-up, and the personalities of your individual chickens.

If I have a broody hen raise them those start at Day 1 with the flock. My brooder raised chicks are turned loose to mingle with the adults at 5 weeks, so people do it even younger. For some people it is best to wait until they are much older.

At 14 weeks those pullets will want to avoid the older hens. If they have sufficient room they can normally manage. Mrs. K has some good suggestions to increase the quality of the room you do have. Good luck!

 

[aart]

Knowing the size of your coops and runs might help garner more specific suggestions.
Dimensions, and pics, would help immensely.

Here's what I do, more pics of you click on pic and use arrows.