Bullying vs establishing a pecking order

[Kedwar72]

We have two waterers and one feeder but the feeder has multiple areas where they can access the food in the bucket. Should I get a second bucket?

Also thank you for the suggestions for distractions and clutter. That never occurred to me! Are distractions more useful in the coop or in the run?

Any thoughts on how long I should keep the head hen isolated in the cage? I let them coexist for a couple of hours yesterday in the yard and the head hen pulled out/ate some of the new pullets feathers, so she is back in isolation in the crate. She seems like the problem because my other pullet is perfectly fine with my new one. Is this the correct mentality or will this just make the head hen more angry? Thank you all again for your help! I have learned my lesson and will not get just one new hen at a time in the future.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

We have two waterers and one feeder but the feeder has multiple areas where they can access the food in the bucket. Should I get a second bucket?

Also thank you for the suggestions for distractions and clutter. That never occurred to me! Are distractions more useful in the coop or in the run?

Any thoughts on how long I should keep the head hen isolated in the cage? I let them coexist for a couple of hours yesterday in the yard and the head hen pulled out/ate some of the new pullets feathers, so she is back in isolation in the crate. She seems like the problem because my other pullet is perfectly fine with my new one. Is this the correct mentality or will this just make the head hen more angry? Thank you all again for your help! I have learned my lesson and will not get just one new hen at a time in the future.

I would try two separate feeders, and not within sight of each other. So a waterer and a feeder in one place, and the other pair somewhere else. Set up a visual block, like a piece of plywood or even a sheet temporarily. What helps is to not have clear sight lines. I just discovered my older hen may be feeder guarding with the pullets so I’ll be moving the second feeder around a corner to be out of sight, where the hen can’t see who is using it from the first feeder area.

Clutter also provides a barrier the new pullet can run behind or around and get away. In my experience (these were chicks who are now pullets, and one hen is making sure they know their place), the chases are brief, so anything the pullets can use to put between them and the chaser helps. Avoid dead ends where somebody could get cornered. For instance, I have a long narrow rectangular section of run ending under the small coop. There’s the ladder up, about five feet from the end which is helpful for running around, but I have also put a bucket upside down further back under there, so nobody can get caught in the very back corners. The bucket is tall enough the hen doesn’t try going over it. So if the pullet is chased into that area she zips around it.

On another corner elsewhere I’ve securely leaned a piece of colored roofing against one wall, with room on each side for one pullet or hen to go behind and around the corner, and zip out the other side.

Predator proofing - I noticed in your pictures is that the run walls are chicken wire? I recommend some hardware cloth so nobody can reach in and grab somebody (raccoons, weasels). The wire cage looks vulnerable there against the run wall, she’s sort of trapped in there and it may not be wide enough to be out of reach. Otherwise it looks really nice! If there is any pecking at roost time you can also run a little chicken wire as a divider between the chickens.

 

[rosemarythyme]

We have two waterers and one feeder but the feeder has multiple areas where they can access the food in the bucket. Should I get a second bucket?

A 2nd feeder doesn't need to be a bucket necessarily. All my outdoor feeders are things like cat food bowls, large ramekins (I have a standard 7 lb gravity feeder indoors). The outdoor feeders get washed out and refilled each morning.

Also thank you for the suggestions for distractions and clutter. That never occurred to me! Are distractions more useful in the coop or in the run?

Run, both due to space and because most chickens will opt to spend most of their daylight hours outside.

Any thoughts on how long I should keep the head hen isolated in the cage? I let them coexist for a couple of hours yesterday in the yard and the head hen pulled out/ate some of the new pullets feathers, so she is back in isolation in the crate. She seems like the problem because my other pullet is perfectly fine with my new one. Is this the correct mentality or will this just make the head hen more angry? Thank you all again for your help! I have learned my lesson and will not get just one new hen at a time in the future.

I don't know if she really needs to be caged, but since you currently are having issues I'd prioritize adding the 2nd feeder and some clutter first, then try letting her out at that point - the new stuff plus having the space visually broken up might be all the change you need to ensure she doesn't fixate so much on the new bird.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

We have two waterers and one feeder but the feeder has multiple areas where they can access the food in the bucket. Should I get a second bucket?

Also thank you for the suggestions for distractions and clutter. That never occurred to me! Are distractions more useful in the coop or in the run?

Any thoughts on how long I should keep the head hen isolated in the cage? I let them coexist for a couple of hours yesterday in the yard and the head hen pulled out/ate some of the new pullets feathers, so she is back in isolation in the crate. She seems like the problem because my other pullet is perfectly fine with my new one. Is this the correct mentality or will this just make the head hen more angry? Thank you all again for your help! I have learned my lesson and will not get just one new hen at a time in the future.

How many chickens total are there? Three? You had a pair and have added one?