Aggressive Leghorn

[potterpoulets]

Space and time is the only possible cure....even then the aggressive bird may never 'play nice'.
You could always use the old small coop/run to do some chicken juggling to try and take her down a peg.

How big will the new coop and run be.... in feet by feet?
Pics would help.

Tho newly laying pullets can be pretty crazy with surging hormones and may calm down in time.

I hadn't thought of the hormonal component. It makes sense that they might calm down over time.

Thanks!

 

[potterpoulets]

So, I added leghorn in after everyone was roosting. The BO got a bit panicked. I'll check them in the morning and throughout the day to see how things go... fingers crossed!

 

[Kev]

It may be she is being a leghorn. They can be far more active and reactive than the typical dual purpose chicken.

Does she seem that way to you? rarely calm and just mellowing out? constantly moving, looking at things, and if out on range, quick to go all over the yard, the whole time they are out or..... birds like this don't "bear confinement well" to be straight up with it.

Birds like that also tend to be much more 'alert' and react to things. quicker to get noisy... I suspect that is her issue with the other hens in the nest boxes, it is something 'new' and she is reacting to behavior and sounds she has not really seen from the others. If the nest boxes are exposed, that may be not helping with her issue.. the hens need to literally hide from her to lay eggs in peace. She might still go in and stir things up just from hearing them though.

She might calm down but usually that comes after they are a year old.

if you like leghorns, how about keeping a separate coop of more active birds like her? Leghorn coop?

 

[potterpoulets]

It may be she is being a leghorn. They can be far more active and reactive than the typical dual purpose chicken.

Does she seem that way to you? rarely calm and just mellowing out? constantly moving, looking at things, and if out on range, quick to go all over the yard, the whole time they are out or..... birds like this don't "bear confinement well" to be straight up with it.

Birds like that also tend to be much more 'alert' and react to things. quicker to get noisy... I suspect that is her issue with the other hens in the nest boxes, it is something 'new' and she is reacting to behavior and sounds she has not really seen from the others. If the nest boxes are exposed, that may be not helping with her issue.. the hens need to literally hide from her to lay eggs in peace. She might still go in and stir things up just from hearing them though.

She might calm down but usually that comes after they are a year old.

if you like leghorns, how about keeping a separate coop of more active birds like her? Leghorn coop?

Yes, I do think it has some to do with her being a leghorn. I also wish my smaller BO was slightly less mamsey. They are not a good combination: breed + personality. Maybe I can sit out with a spray bottle and train her not to sit in the pop hole. We'll see how it goes.

We have about the smallest lot in town and because it's a historic house, we cannot have anything not approved visible from the street, so another coop is not an option. If I absolutely have to re-home her, I'll try to replace her with a mellower white egg layer in the spring.

If I can amuse her for another 5 months in the hope that she calms down a bit, I will. Thanks!

 

[Kev]

Ah yeah, historic house/lot.. I see what your overall issues are. Totally understood.

Spray bottle would be a great idea, ha! If she continues to be a monster about the nest boxes, I'd try to make them less visible from the front if possible.. I use covered cat litter boxes(got in the habit while using hens to hatch peafowl eggs- just pick up the whole box and move to isolation), I would have done something like turn them around so the entrance faced the wall or each other.. maybe lift the nest box row higher off the ground..

Hope she mellows out and good luck!

 

[potterpoulets]

Ah yeah, historic house/lot.. I see what your overall issues are. Totally understood.

Spray bottle would be a great idea, ha! If she continues to be a monster about the nest boxes, I'd try to make them less visible from the front if possible.. I use covered cat litter boxes(got in the habit while using hens to hatch peafowl eggs- just pick up the whole box and move to isolation), I would have done something like turn them around so the entrance faced the wall or each other.. maybe lift the nest box row higher off the ground..

Hope she mellows out and good luck!

"Active and reactive" seems quite accurate. I was really only paying attention to the dominance before, but it's like she has ADHD. She has sufficiently stirred things up this morning, but everyone is intact! Ironically, the only egg I've found yet today is leghorn's and in the run. We'll see how the day progresses...

 

[Spartan22]

You've mentioned about pinless peepers, use them. I had 2 mean leghorns my first year w/ chickens, and I didn't want to get rid of them since there my best layers, tho I almost send them to freezer camp when they were constantly giving my nice hens bloody back/head. Then silly glasses they wear for couple of months, they have calmed down tremendously that I actually still have them leghorns and added 2 more living peacefully with 2 generations of new layers, just make sure you have multiple feeders and waterers.

 

[potterpoulets]

You've mentioned about pinless peepers, use them. I had 2 mean leghorns my first year w/ chickens, and I didn't want to get rid of them since there my best layers, tho I almost send them to freezer camp when they were constantly giving my nice hens bloody back/head. Then silly glasses they wear for couple of months, they have calmed down tremendously that I actually still have them leghorns and added 2 more living peacefully with 2 generations of new layers, just make sure you have multiple feeders and waterers.

Thanks! Maybe I'll give them a shot this weekend. She is my best layer! She is just so nervous (but not in an anxious way). I put a flock block in the run yesterday to add some distraction for the time being. I may hang a wiffle ball on a string when they finish that. She has a couple peck marks on her comb, so at least the other girls are standing up for themselves. I do have 2 feeders and 3 watering cups, although she doesn't seem possessive over those.