Introduced two chicks to flock of 6

[nateritz]

I am new to owning chickens and have a flock of 6 pullets, aged 11 weeks now. They have grown up together from being shipped to our house. A week ago a friend desperately needed to get rid of two of her white leghorn "chicks", aged 7 weeks. So, we agreed to take them, though they are quite a bit smaller than the rest. I have now seen the pecking order established first hand. We tried allowing them to be with the rest of the group for the first night, but after the two hours of sheer terror of the little ones and bullying I saw, I made an ad hoc coop within the main run. So, essentially, the two smaller ones can now see the others, but are safe from there and have all the feed and water they want.

The other night the two little ones escaped there confinement and joined the rest of the flock during roost time, and I thought all was well because they survived the night. The next morning the bullying resumed, not letting them get near food or water, and generally just showing who didn't belong. So, i put them back in confinement.

Is there a time when I just let the natural order of things occur and hope the little ones can fend for themselves? I am worried they won't be able to eat and grow bigger, which is why i have chosen to separate them. I am hoping they can grow larger the next few weeks to at least compete with the other 6, in terms of size.

A sidenote, there are multiple feeding spots in the coop and run area, and multiple roosts.

Thanks for the help,
Nate