Laying hen mounting another hen?

[TheFugitivePen]

So, we've observed one of our six-month old hens mounting a lower-tier hen of the same age. The mounting hen is not top hen, as far as I can tell, and seems to be mid- to low-tier herself. The mounting has happened three times that we've seen, which makes me think it's actually happening lots more than weve witnessed.

We know she's not a Roo because we've caught her in the act of laying. She's one of our newest layers and, shockingly, gives the largest eggs of the group.

Is this a behavior we should be concerned about? Anything we can do to discourage it?

Or are is the rest of the flock just in for an awkward ride?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Do you have a rooster at all? When there's no rooster actively mounting the hens, the hens will squat for anybody, including other hens. What could be happening, is your hen goes to peck a lower hen to get her out of her way, and instead of the hen moving, she squats. Then your hen ends up on top of the lower. (I have been seeing it a lot in my own rooster less flock.)

On a side note, if it's not a dominance thing, check out this post here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/26254503/

 

[TheFugitivePen]

Do you have a rooster at all? When there's no rooster actively mounting the hens, the hens will squat for anybody, including other hens. What could be happening, is your hen goes to peck a lower hen to get her out of her way, and instead of the hen moving, she squats. Then your hen ends up on top of the lower. (I have been seeing it a lot in my own rooster less flock.)

On a side note, if it's not a dominance thing, check out this post here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/26254503/

We have no rooster, so most of the laying hens squat for me and my son if we get close enough and they don't have something more important to get to lol. The odd hen is the only one who REFUSES to squat, which I've heard is not uncommon, honestly.

She's just always been an odd bird. She developed a comb and wattles earlier than her other flock mates, and for a hen, they seem HUGE, but she definitely has a hen's body and feathers .... and she's laying an egg almost daily. I honestly suspected her of being a rooster until she was fully feathered. Her body is very much female.

A month ago, we quarantined her for about 10 days for an injury (torn earlobe). She'd free range outside the run where the rest of the hens were and would then roost alone in a prepared cage in our garage/basement. Prior to quarantining, she was one of the top hens. Once she was out of the coop, her pecking order position was snatched up by a smaller, bossier hen. When she returned to the group, she went from the top to the middle of the pecking order. A couple of weeks after her return, she started mounting, so I'm wondering if it's all connected.

I never imagined chicken social structure would be so fascinating.

 

[TheFugitivePen]

Do you have a rooster at all? When there's no rooster actively mounting the hens, the hens will squat for anybody, including other hens. What could be happening, is your hen goes to peck a lower hen to get her out of her way, and instead of the hen moving, she squats. Then your hen ends up on top of the lower. (I have been seeing it a lot in my own rooster less flock.)

On a side note, if it's not a dominance thing, check out this post here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/26254503/

And thank you for linking that thread! How fascinating!

 

[Wot The Flock]

Once she was out of the coop, her pecking order position was snatched up by a smaller, bossier hen. When she returned to the group, she went from the top to the middle of the pecking order. A couple of weeks after her return, she started mounting, so I'm wondering if it's all connected.

IMO, yes, it is a dominance/pecking order issue. I did have my alpha do it to a newbie, and I suspect it was a two-fold issue of the newbie growing a bit larger than the alpha, and possibly not taking the other hints for pecking order. She only did it once or twice, and it did take a long time for the newbie to be fully accepted by the other two. She is more the alpha's favourite now, go figure.

Ultimately, I think she will stop once the targeted hen knows "her place" in the pecking order, at least according to "Miss Mountalot".

It's probably less harmful than a vicious pecking.

 

[TheFugitivePen]

IMO, yes, it is a dominance/pecking order issue. I did have my alpha do it to a newbie, and I suspect it was a two-fold issue of the newbie growing a bit larger than the alpha, and possibly not taking the other hints for pecking order. She only did it once or twice, and it did take a long time for the newbie to be fully accepted by the other two. She is more the alpha's favourite now, go figure.

Ultimately, I think she will stop once the targeted hen knows "her place" in the pecking order, at least according to "Miss Mountalot".

It's probably less harmful than a vicious pecking.

Yes, I definitely think it's a dominance thing now, two months later. I don't see the behavior often, but, the few times I have, she's climbing on top of the same hen every time.
So far, no one's hurt, and the mounted hen seems unbothered. She gets up, shakes herself off, and goes about her business.
Chickens definitely keep you on your toes and are an endless source of entertainment LOL

 

[Wot The Flock]

Dogs (even female) seem to do the same thing, mount as pack dominance type of deal.

You could try giving her a bit more attention, or hand feed her a treat before the mounted hen, that I suspect, reinforces the pecking order. I was careful to do that when I recently integrated pullets to existing hens, the hens got the treat first, the pullets after that.

I think that reinforcing pecking order helps for more harmonious co-existence.

My current integration outlined here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ghbor’s-chickens.1556827/page-5#post-26450788

 

[TheFugitivePen]

Dogs (even female) seem to do the same thing, mount as pack dominance type of deal.

You could try giving her a bit more attention, or hand feed her a treat before the mounted hen, that I suspect, reinforces the pecking order. I was careful to do that when I recently integrated pullets to existing hens, the hens got the treat first, the pullets after that.

I think that reinforcing pecking order helps for more harmonious co-existence.

My current integration outlined here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/should-we-try-to-adopt-a-neighbor’s-chickens.1556827/page-5#post-26450788

Thank you for the tip and the link!

I'll see if I can give her more treats by hand. The one who mounts and her victim tend to be a little more skittish and less fond of human attention.
I've noticed that the hens at the bottom of the pecking order are less eager to eat out of my hands ... likely because the girls at the top beat them to it. I do my best to give the lower girls treats by hand when I can, but they are inevitably shoved out of the way by the top hens. Not pecked or attacked, just moved.
I try to scatter treats all over the run and watch to make sure that everyone gets some, even if they don't want to eat out of my hand.

 

[Wot The Flock]

try to scatter treats all over the run and watch to make sure that everyone gets some, even if they don't want to eat out of my hand.

Just spend (way!) more time with your chickens. None should be afraid of you, and reinforce that pecking order with the treats.

 

[Stellasmomma]

So, we've observed one of our six-month old hens mounting a lower-tier hen of the same age. The mounting hen is not top hen, as far as I can tell, and seems to be mid- to low-tier herself. The mounting has happened three times that we've seen, which makes me think it's actually happening lots more than weve witnessed.

We know she's not a Roo because we've caught her in the act of laying. She's one of our newest layers and, shockingly, gives the largest eggs of the group.

Is this a behavior we should be concerned about? Anything we can do to discourage it?

Or are is the rest of the flock just in for an awkward ride?

So I have a hen that acts like a Roo she's a bigger hen and will go to another Hen and mount her poor girls don't even have time to squat! She grabs on to their neck feathers and acts like she is mateing them, I believe she is the head Hen and I have read somewhere here I believe that if you don't have a Rooster a Dominant hen will sometimes take on the role of the Roo, what's odd with yours it you said she isn't the dominant hen. Good news is so far I have not noticed this causing any issue with my hens and they are not being hurt so yours should be ok. Its weird isn't it!