I have two hens that free-roam during the day and are locked in a small coop at night for protection from predators. I have two pullets that are getting too big for the utility sink they were raised in and I want to put them in with the others. For months they have shared the same fenced yard without incident, but are always on opposite sides of the yard. They now also share the same food and water dishes that are in the coop, but fight when locked in together. How can I get them all to coexist in the same coop at night? If I just let them fight it out will the older hens kill the younger?

FYI, the two older are a buff orpington and a barred rock, and the younger are a Light Brahma and a white crested black polish (size issue here too).

Thanks,
-Rex

I have a flock of 30. Half are roosters. I started out with a small house too and had to add on as the flock grew. I've never had any chickens fight to the death. You may need to expand their house. I usually put new chickens in the coop at night while the others are sleeping. They may accept them better that way and just think they belong there.
Joyce

I agree with Joyce, they will not fight in the dark but... you can't fool a chicken on identifying a mate, so make sure they have plenty of room to escape each other as long as there is any light. Good luck. Anny

I tried lots of methods to incorporate young hens with an older flock and I've had lots of bad experiences!

Once I put some young hens with 3 older girls and one of the younger ones got her brains litterally picked out. They had lots of room to run away but the old hens worked using teamwork and would chase them into a corner and surround them.

The only method that worked is placing a wire cage inside a larger one with the younger hens in the smaller pen and the oldies in the bigger one. They can see each other yet they can't harm the younger hens. This way they can get used to each other without endangering any lives!

It takes a while for them to "get to know each other", but once they do you can release the younger hens into the old flock and no problems arise! Of course they will peck a little to establish a new pecking order but, other than that, no one gets a bad hair day (to put it lightly).

Hi Rex, I've heard of real horror stories (like the one above) about mixing birds. Here's my story, I'll try to make it quick.

My birds, six standard breeds, hatched last year. Added a rooster in June 2000, no problems. Added a silky (a tiny one!), she was the aggressor, no problems. Hatched eggs this spring by the silky, had one pullet. Raised the pullet in a pen right next to the standards with the silkie. I would release them all together in the yard and the silkie would go with the big birds, not the pullet though.

When I had to separate the pullet from the roosters, I put her in with the hens in the late afternoon, watched them till they went to bed, pullet followed in, no problems. CJR says I got some real mellow birds, I just keep em happy and well fed, and never had a sickness or pecking or any other problem. Good Luck!!

I've merged flocks like this so many times and in spite of all the horror stories I've heard, I haven't ever had one single issue myself.

I let them get to know each other through a fence, like you said you did. Then I put them together and stay around to watch for a while. I make sure there are separate feeders and waterers. Our coop is a large building so in there I was able to set some bales of hay in places as to allow the little ones to escape and hide. After a couple of weeks, we don't have any issues at all and everyone is co-existing like buddies now.

Older/bigger ones will occasionally kill another. I've never had anything but a few feathers plucked out but it is something to keep an eye on. However, there has to be a little bit of fighting as they work out their pecking order. That's just a given. Then I think it comes down to an individual chicken and how aggressive it is. My most aggressive hen I have now was content with just chasing the little ones for a few feet and then strutting around like she was the big, happy bully.

Good luck to you!
Susie

I want some help with this issue as well. I have 3 mixed breed hens and a rooster all raised together, no big problems. The smallest hen went broody in August and she went into a separate pen to hatch and raise her young. When she was ready to start laying again she started to make it obvious to me that she wanted to go back in the coop, but I've tried twice and the dominant hen brutally attacks her. I quickly let her out both times. She is only separated from the others by a fence, so it's not like they don't know eachother. I will be giving the chicks away soon and will try to intigrate them together at that time. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Janet

You just have to let the chickens work it out themselves. In my experience, 9 times out of 10, they will fight initially, but once the "pecking order" is established, things smooth out. I think the key is to not overcrowd and provide a bit of an escape from the attackers. Now occasionally you'll have a bird that is just downright mean. In that case, I would remove the dominant bird, add the new ones, then add the dominant bird back to the flock after a few days. Even a few days separation will break the dominance, although it may be reestablished later. I would just keep a close eye on them, and so long as there are no serious injuries, just let them be-they'll figure it out!

Yeah, they will figure out the pecking order...but is that before or after they kill each other? :)

For me it took almost 2 months. Geez, I must have either really mean old hens or really stupid ones!