- Mar 25, 2014
- 7
- 1
- 9
I recently got 9 chickens from my dad. A couple of white leghorns and a golden comet with the other 6 being various crosses of leghorn, silkie and barnyard mixes. We have them for eggs and pest control and we are happy with what we have...mostly...
The comet hen, who I believe is the mother of the young rooster and a hen I have, is a real nasty bird. She will chase all the other birds except the leghorn rooster and hen (king and queen) away from the food. She will spend an hour keeping the 6 younger hens out of the food without eating herself!
If they are outside and I toss them treats or they find some spilt birdseed etc, she will push the rest out even pecking and screeching at the rest of the flock. She is the second in charge and seems to be the "muscle" of the group and I am worried she is stressing the young birds. Should she go back to my dad's? I mentioned culling her and he lost it...he really loves his chickens and has not eaten a single bird in over 5 years of birds...hawks, owls, weasels and other critters keep his flock to under 30+/- most of the time. He told me to bring her back if she is a problem.
Should I let nature take its course and hope a younger hen fights back? Or should she get chicken lockup (dog kennel) for a day or two until she starts behaving? Any input would be helpful, thanks!
The comet hen, who I believe is the mother of the young rooster and a hen I have, is a real nasty bird. She will chase all the other birds except the leghorn rooster and hen (king and queen) away from the food. She will spend an hour keeping the 6 younger hens out of the food without eating herself!
If they are outside and I toss them treats or they find some spilt birdseed etc, she will push the rest out even pecking and screeching at the rest of the flock. She is the second in charge and seems to be the "muscle" of the group and I am worried she is stressing the young birds. Should she go back to my dad's? I mentioned culling her and he lost it...he really loves his chickens and has not eaten a single bird in over 5 years of birds...hawks, owls, weasels and other critters keep his flock to under 30+/- most of the time. He told me to bring her back if she is a problem.
Should I let nature take its course and hope a younger hen fights back? Or should she get chicken lockup (dog kennel) for a day or two until she starts behaving? Any input would be helpful, thanks!