8 month old laying New Hampshire Red hen needs re-homing. In NW Connecticut.

[lavenderhengal]

Greetings. Today is Feb 27, 2022.

I have a small mixed flock of six hens all the same age (8 months old) in the NW corner of Connecticut. Because they are a mixed flock, I am discovering that some breeds are bigger and maybe more assertive in nature. This is the case with Rosy, my New Hampshire Red, who I have decided to re-home.

She is beautiful, healthy, and lays very large double-yoked eggs constantly. She is our best layer! But she is also a bit bigger than the other breeds and lords over the littler Sussex hen and Welsummer hen, in particular.

I hope someone with a flock can take Rosy and give her a good home where she will not be in such a dominant position. I think moving to a new flock will change her pecking order position in a positive way. Please contact me if you think you could give Rosy a good home. All my chickens are accustomed to people and daily handling and are very friendly to humans. Rosy loves cabbage!

 

[farteaga45]

I don’t know if you’ve tried this but, if you’re still trying to keep her, I’ve heard that you may have luck resetting the pecking order of your flock if you isolate the top hen for a few days (about 3 days) and then integrate her back in, you usually don’t even have to separate her with like a fence or anything you can just drop her back in and she’ll be the new bird and will end up lower on the pecking order. Hopefully that helps.

 

[lavenderhengal]

I don’t know if you’ve tried this but, if you’re still trying to keep her, I’ve heard that you may have luck resetting the pecking order of your flock if you isolate the top hen for a few days (about 3 days) and then integrate her back in, you usually don’t even have to separate her with like a fence or anything you can just drop her back in and she’ll be the new bird and will end up lower on the pecking order. Hopefully that helps.

I so appreciate your interest and advice. I am sad when I think of splitting the girls up. I sit and watch their interactions closely to try to understand the complex dynamics that I am not smart enough to understand. Chickens are so quick-minded and smart. I also respect their wisdom, which is enormous. By removing a member, I believe I would disrupt their trust in me, which is absolute right now. To them I am one of them.

So, in the last two days, I have sat with them during the early evening just before bedtime to try to understand the triggers that are causing unrest in Rosy. I found that if I take away the hanging cabbage that has been there all day, it lessens the competition that was occurring around it just at dinner time. Then I sit and watch her. When she has gone after a colleague I immediately put her in a soft sided crate that I have put in their coop. I zip the door closed and the others go about eating. But interestingly, the oppressed Welsummer goes over and seems to try to release Rosy from "jail". The Lavender Orpington, Silva also tries to comfort Rosy as they are friends. Rosy fusses around in the crate, as I sit and watch everyone. Once the other girls have gone onto their roost, I let Rosy out and she is slightly changed for the better from her pushy attitude around the food.
I have done this twice now and will continue being more vigilant each evening to try to reshape the dynamic.
I don't have anywhere to put Rosy for three days, though I believe that method would be ideal. Right now it is 18 degrees outside and 68 inside my home. Bringing her into my warm house for three days would be bad for her health, I believe. Though it would be the best solution if the temps weren't so vastly different.
So, I am committed to a more abbreviated version of chicken jail within the coop to try to shift the dynamic.

I had wondered if I should try leaving her in the chicken jail overnight for a few days, if that would serve the same purpose as removing her altogether for three days? What do you think? She would be seen at all times, but would not have access to the ability to peck others or maintain her imagined position as top chick. Would this be a successful strategy? She is not actually the alpha hen. My Cuckoo Marans Henny is the wise leader. She is gentle and calm. Her voice is peculiarly deep and commanding. She never hurts anyone, but is the leader. Rosy is an outlier because she is a tough American breed who is just being too assertive and mean-spirited at times perhaps just due to her size, but not all the time.

It is all so fascinating. Chickens are profoundly intelligent, so much so that it breaks ones heart to think of all the intelligent, suffering hens in the factory farms.

I appreciate any thoughts you might share about this topic.