Aggressive hen.....

[BWSY]

I got two Barred Rocks. One hen will grab the other by the comb. Very territorial in the coop. I have ordered the pinless peepers. I hope that it works. Any comments greatly appreciated.

BTW. I let them out when I am home. They were on a higher protein diet prior to pickup. I am feeding a layer feed now. I give them veggies and meat as treats.

Suggestions on holding the head while attaching the peeper....


These were raised in a loving home, but half the flock (17) are pecking the others. Is it the breed?

 

[easttxchick]

I have no idea on holding the head while putting the peepers on, but I can give you my experience with Barred Rock hens.
I have 4-2 are very mild mannered, sweet, get along well with the others, basically peace lovers. On the other hand, my other 2 are somewhat bird aggressive-these 2 are absolutely at the top of the pecking order and rule the coop(including 2 of my 3 roosters).
All 4 are fantastic with people and I love the breed.

 

[BWSY]

Thanks easttxchick for the reply.

The two are great with me and they get along outside the coop. I see the same boss hen doing her thing, but it's not hurting the other. In the coop it's another story. Boss hen grabs the other by the comb or neck. Now I know why it's hard to get the hen in the coop at night.

What do you do with your hens?

I only have a 4x8 coop. Based on this one. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=39717-how-to-build-a-brood-pen If I had known that this would happen I would have designed a different layout with a divider. OH WELL!

So my plan is to separate the two hens during the day while I'm gone. I have a rabbit hutch that can house one and leave the other in the coop.

Keep both in the coop during the night since the coop is more predator proof and the hens are less active at night.

Try the peepers thing.

If that doesn't work, I will come up with a divider for the coop.

 

[easttxchick]

To be honest with you, my older BR hen, Stripey just is what she is, I leave her to do her top of the pecking order thing. She has earned that spot and sometimes she has to put the others in their place(she doesn't draw blood). Bella, my younger BR hen, on the other hand actually growls at some of the other birds. Again, she doesn't draw blood, but she LOVES to peck the other birds her age on the head-she is just establishing her top of the heap of her age group position. I really kind of let nature takes it's course and will continue to do so UNLESS it escalates.
Hope the peepers work for you and if they are being REALLY aggressive, taking the aggressor out during the day is the best idea.
Good luck to you!

 

[BWSY]

Thanks. I will get some video of it later in order to help with the evaluation of aggressiveness. Obviously, these are my first chickens and I know that they will do mean stuff! I just don't know what's normal.

 

[BWSY]

I don't know if the posts/threads are TTT.

I never got any videos of the pecking, but I did attach a pinless peeper on the aggressive hen and things have settled down in the coop. I now have to make sure if I'm giving any treats that I keep the No. 2 hen away so No. 1 can get a fair share. I didn't like having to do it, but I only have a small flock/coop so I couldn't just get rid of the problem hen. Both are great layers and are easy to care for.

A guy at a local farm store said that he had to do it with some, but after a while when the peeper fell off he didn't have any of the problems that he had prior to attaching it. So I will remove it after some time has past to see if what he said is true. I'm sure any nasty habits will be gone by then! Finger crossed!!!!

 

[BWSY]

Update on the peeper. I took the peeper off of the one hen and everything is still peaceful. YEA!!!

 

[Lotsapaints]

Nice to know that the peepers worked congrats on getting it worked out

 

[BWSY]

Thanks....I hope I didn't jinx it! It's been three days. I know they are creatures of habit!