We have all heard of the phrase “the pecking order”. Chickens establish a hierarchial order in their flock. This is thought to have evolved over many thousands of years in the jungle fowl of South East Asia. The pecking order allowed the flock to eat in turn and peacefully when food was available. If they were fighting at these times, they would be wasting their opportunity to eat and attracting attention to themselves from predators.
The pecking order is still well and truly with the hens of today and hens can be incredibly cruel to newcomers. If you are mixing hens that aren’t used to one another, you should make sure you are around to keep an eye open for trouble. The following points may help:
- Place newcomers behind a fence or in a small run for a week so that they can get used to their new surroundings and get used to one another.
- Introduce a new hen at night to the coop when it is dark. Place her amongst the other hens. They will not fight in the dark and it will give the others a chance to get used to the new smell.
- If pecking takes place, leave them to get on with it as much as you can. They have to establish the new pecking order but…
- If blood is drawn at any point, remove the hen and try again when the injury has healed. Chickens are attracted to red and will peck blood very quickly.
- You may want to try removing the hen that is fighting with the newcomer to the flock for a little while until the new hen has settled into the flock, then put the trouble maker back in.
If you are still having difficulty with the hens getting along, you can try an Anti-peck spray and if you have real problems, ‘bumpa bits‘ can be fitted to the beak for a while. These stop the end of the beak closing completely so prevent her from causing damage to other hens but she is still able to eat and drink normally.
Hi I am hoping tp get 3 or 4 new chickens soon, Henrietta died last week(ex battery hen) I have 2 left which I have had for a year, They have not been laying much for months 1 egg every other day or so, can you tell me the best chickens to have for egg laying, I would like to have big chickens as my other ones are big.
Hybrids are the best for egg production. If you want to go for pure breeds, you’d need to find a good utility strain as many breeds that are bred for their looks / for show are not the best egg layers. Light Sussex, Rhode Island Red are a good size and usually lay reasonably well
I dont know if they have been wormed i would think so but i cant be sure. ill worm them soon as. Thanks for the info. How often would you give them greens? and how much?
Greens should be given daily ad lib.
Hi,
I have three older large birds, one of which is quite aggressive. I’ve been given a small chicken, bantem and wonder if she will be accepted into the flock. Banty is currently in a seperate coup and run where they can all see each other. When do you think it will be possible to get them all settled together.
Many thanks, Rachel
Yes, it’s normally possible if she has enough space to get away from bullies and there are a few feeding and watering points. You really need to see how it goes though.
We got 5 chickens which were 8 weeks old & also 2 at 1 week & a hatchling. The 3 babies were kept seperate until bigger. When we first tried them in with the bigger chickens they bullied them & the babies (although big) ran out & jumped on my lap. I was sat by door. We kept them apart for a couple more weeks but in a run side by side to the others & then got an electric fence. We placed babies up in wooded area in electric fence first them put the other 5 in with them, once again the biggest 2 of the 5 fronted the smaller ones up & the Babies stood tall & really stood their ground chasing the bigger ones. All whom run away!) Now the 3 little ones are fully in charge, but they all live happly together.
I got three pol chickens four weeks ago, all different. The smallest is at the bottom of the pecking order. But for the first time this evening she was very reluctant to go into the coop as it seems as that the ‘pecking’ seems to be intensifying as they are getting older and bigger. I have used anti-pecking spray, but she gets pecked elsewhere. Any other suggestions.
Ideally, you want them all to be a similar size so they can look after themselves. The only thing you can do is provide multiple feeders / drinkers so she can always get to these, space from the others during the day and see that she gets in to the coop at night to roost with enough room to find a place where she won’t be pecked.
hi i have 4 girls p.o.l 3 have started laying one has yet to start. its comb is not as big but its taken to sleeping outside the coop i put it back but its back out the next night any ideas please thanks bob
She should soon get the message but check she isn’t being bullied and there’s enough room for her to perch away from the others if she wants to. The only other thing that can cause them to stay out is Red Mite but chances are because they are so new, it’s her not used to the house and finding it hard to go in to roost without getting pecked. Chances are, she’s bottom of the pecking order which you should be able to see around feeders and treats as she will submit to the others or get pecked.