A Couple of Behaviors

[bcorps]

Okay, first let me say my flock seems to get along okay (with a couple exceptions). Nobody is killing each other.

But, the OG Buff Orpington ladies just got their beaks out of joint when I first introduced the other 6 girls. To this day, if there is a choice morsel to be squabbled over, you can count on the Orpingtons being thuggish about it. No problem. I expect that.

What I don't expect is that whenever my roo, The Thing pounces on one of the new girls...my alpha hen (one of the BO's) comes over and will peck and bite her while she's pinned. I'm calling a party foul on that. Not nice. She's also the same girl who if any of the new girls (not her sisters) is on my lap at the same time as she wants to be on my lap....well, they have to go, and they will get stared down up close and hateful until they leave. She is a real bully. So much for the sweet, docile Buff Orpington.

The other thing is my favorite BO hen, Little Miss...we joke about her being a bra burner. The Thing comes running for her, and she just puffs up, does the lowered wings defensive threat display (she looks like a buff tom turkey), and then makes a run for it. He will chase her and chase her. She has the agility of an olympic athlete, and mostly evades capture. On the few occasions he has caught her, he will sit on top of her for 90 seconds, where the other hens get 10 seconds at most. She really and truly ticks him off, making him work so hard, so I can imagine he is trying to teach her a lesson. When he gets off, she will usually go find one of the new girls to beat up a little. She is not happy with it. Good thing she's so fast. It's annoying to watch, as she is the one who most loves to hop on my lap and even my chest if I lean back a little and cuddle.

I know chickens can be brutal, but sheesh.

 

[Folly's place]

Little velociraptors, really.
Sometimes it's best to rehome a difficult hen, depending on just how disruptive she might be. Having space, places to be out of sight, and multiple feeders and waterers in different locations all helps a lot.
How long have the two groups been together? Here, family groups (hatchmates) will stick together for a long time, all normal. In your case, as you mentioned, nobody is being injured, so maybe it's all within acceptable limits.
But that bully BO could leave...
Mary

 

[DobieLover]

I've seen the head pecking behavior by the senior hen as well as the senior rooster that submits to a junior rooster/cockerel. What they are trying to communicate is either "that's MY rooster, don't submit to him" or when the rooster does it "you're MY hen, don't submit to him".
I had to rehome a BANTAM cockerel because he relentlessly harassed my big girls and when he finally managed to catch one and mount her, the senior rooster would start pecking her head. My Exchequer Leghorn's head was bald because the little runt was hanging on for dear life trying to hit the target and he pulled most of the feathers out of her head. Her head was also covered in little scabs from the pecking of the senior rooster.
I rehomed the little bugger 2 weeks ago and her head has healed up, the feathers are already growing back in and the entire flock is much more peaceful.
So... either they will eventually work things out or you can rehome the head hen but that isn't going to stop the rooster from chasing down Little Miss trying to make her submit to him. He's going about things all wrong with her.

 

[bcorps]

I've seen the head pecking behavior by the senior hen as well as the senior rooster that submits to a junior rooster/cockerel. What they are trying to communicate is either "that's MY rooster, don't submit to him" or when the rooster does it "you're MY hen, don't submit to him".
I had to rehome a BANTAM cockerel because he relentlessly harassed my big girls and when he finally managed to catch one and mount her, the senior rooster would start pecking her head. My Exchequer Leghorn's head was bald because the little runt was hanging on for dear life trying to hit the target and he pulled most of the feathers out of her head. Her head was also covered in little scabs from the pecking of the senior rooster.
I rehomed the little bugger 2 weeks ago and her head has healed up, the feathers are already growing back in and the entire flock is much more peaceful.
So... either they will eventually work things out or you can rehome the head hen but that isn't going to stop the rooster from chasing down Little Miss trying to make her submit to him. He's going about things all wrong with her.

Yeah, he's actually well-liked by the rest. They don't resist him at all. I think her deal may be because of the "too many roos" situation I had for a while. Three boys and 3 girls was a nightmare for them. So she might just be "oh, so over boys" for a while. Or, she only loves me.