[yacks]

i have aquired a friends flock of 3 girls.  i have got 5 of my own. they were in their own runs for the first day and half and the noise was horrendous.. the 3 new ones were bought by my friend last year a few weeks after i had purchased mine from the same farm... on checking out new hens i noticed that their  beaks didnt look right and one was very aggressive towards it own flock.. i understand that there has to be pecking order but it was rediculous with the amount of pecking she was doing..
i let them out together with mine and oh my god did they fight! .. after getting them apart and putting them in their run i checked on the new girls and one was bleeding from comb... she would not let anyone near her to clean it up so left her and friends on there own..
i got my dad to come over as he has had chickens and worked with them all his life, he got her out put her wings in a strange position and she was very calm and just sat still until he checked her out and then he just let her go with my own birds... the fighting began again he just tapped them on their behinds they looked very shocked and walked away .. one after the other they fought until they had all had a go and was disgusted at being touched by him.... my dad said that the beaks of the new birds had been electo removed and would have been to stop them fighting at farm... when they were bought by my friend they was supposed to be only 20 weeks and pol ...
my questions are:-
is it standard practise to remove beaks from pol if they fight ??
as i thought this was only done on a battery farm and at 20 weeks seems young to be to have no end of beak..
one of the new girls has been in moult for the last 4-5 months .. i didnt think it took so long.
i have got the girls all out together and fighting still erupts i have to watch all the time .. how long does it take for two flocks to settle into one??
the dominant bird in new flock is feeling sorry for her self and sitting head and tail down.. is there anything i can do for her to make her feel better??
i know that this is long and would like to thank you for your time in reading however i just want what is best for all round xxx

[joyfull]

debeaking is usually done in high intensity poultry units, but a few people still do it on a smaller scale.
Really the girls should have been kept separate but in full view of each other so they can acclimatise to each other and also for reasons of quarantining.
The pecking order can last just a couple of days up to a month and the blood from the comb usually looks far worse than it is.

[yacks]

thankyou for reply ... it has gone quiet for a while .. they are still a bit squabbly of food but nothing like earlier... i am never getting new birds to put with mine again that was the most awful thing ever .. i will get eggs and get my broody to raise them... just not sure wether to put them in the one house or let them go in there own?

[joyfull]

a good idea is to have several feeders, drinkers and hiding places so they can hide away if they are being bullied.
A broody should really have her own broody coop with run so the chicks can eat their own feed (adult birds love chick crumb), and not all birds go broody.

[yacks]

i have got three water feeders four ,food feeders and just got broody her own little house love her.. just wondered if she was supposed to run around like a mad man on the loose when she does come out of house .. or has  she just lost her marbles ??
i got lots of little hidey holes for them to go to .. my girls usually end up snuggling with ducks and ducks dont mind xx

[joyfull]

yes normal - they race around chatting so that their eggs can hear them and also to let the other hens know they are still on the job of hatching the next generation - you may find some hens will attack the broody to let her know she is slacking and should get back to her broody job.

[yacks]

thankyou for all your replies to me ... i am feeling a little more positive about today now and not horrified by what i saw .... xxxxx

[bantam novice]

Good Luck Yacks 

[yacks]

luck is something i always need xx got make it work with new girls as i got a little boy of 7  with special needs, and out of the new ones hens he had to choose the dominant hen lol xx he sat crying with her on his lap saying "please be friends cos grandad might eat you if you are naughty" lol xx bless him xx tried telling that grandad was just gonna look after but no he just cried even louder... xxxx