ISA Browns attacked the chicks
The chicks and my hens got along fine for weeks until yesterday when I opened the coop and the chicks we're all bloody. The hens pecked all the skin off their backs from mid back to tail. I had to cull all the chicks because they were badly injured. Upon doing some research I found out that the ISA Brown is known for being aggressive so I have decided that they will be butchered, since there are only the two, with my meat birds in a month. We are taking the fall and winter off of having birds so I can relocate the coop and getting things setup for a new flock in spring.
Wow, sorry you had that experience. We raise Rhode Island Reds for our laying hens and Cornish Cross for our meat birds. Both on pasture For our laying hens we use a modified Geoff Lawton style set-up and for our meat birds we use a Joel Salatin style set up. It has worked out well for us. Hope you have better luck next year! Don't give up....
Oh so sorry. We too have learned so much from our mistakes in raising chickens.
We have 3 new chicks who have just been moved out to the coop and the older bird is not being allowed in for just this reason. She is out and about the yard and following me around, sleeps on a high ledge behind the house as she has always done, and lays her eggs in a spot she made in the midst of some thyme (very fragrant to pick them up each day) so I just have to make sure that her food is available. I hope to let the chicks out in a few days so they can meet.