Another pecking order vs bullying question.

[thecatumbrella]

I'm hoping seasoned chicken keepers can weigh in.

I have four 15 week-old pullets. 2 Golden Comets and 2 Black Australorps. No one is laying yet. One of the Comets is borderline bullying the Australorps. I've seen her hammer her beak into their backs while they're trying to nap, and pull at their earlobes repetitively until we intervene. I've also caught her in the early stages of feather pecking.

She is the smallest of the bunch, and I've seen her submit to normal pecking order head-pecks from the Australorps. This is our first flock, and I have no idea if this is normal, temporary, or a result of raging hormones before they start to lay.

The chickens are 100% in confinement due to heavy predator activity, and have 27 sqft/bird (9x12 run). We try very hard to create an enriching environment with roosts, a dig box, and food toys/greens.

Thank you in advance for any advice. I'm hoping this will pass, but it's frustrating in the meantime.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What are you feeding them?

Sounds like you have some stuff for them to do in the run space but more clutter may help, to visually break up the space more than just a couple of roosts can: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

 

[thecatumbrella]

What are you feeding them?

Sounds like you have some stuff for them to do in the run space but more clutter may help, to visually break up the space more than just a couple of roosts can: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

Right now they're on Nutrena's Starter/Grower Medicated crumble. They also get a small amount of black soldier fly larvae, fresh lemon balm, and wheat grass sprouts.

I'm going to comb through that post, as it's exactly what we've been trying to work towards in the run. We just installed a 3'x3' dig box that's over a foot tall in the center, as it provides that visual break. Unfortunately, she still follows them around it.

 

[Holdthechicken]

I agree with clutter. My run has a bunch of things much to my chagrin, visually I don’t love it . There’s a log roost, a swing, the spa (dust bath area), an old door, and a set of stairs our tiny dog used to use to get into our bed. All of these things provide areas for them to jump onto or duck behind in the event someone is getting too pecky. I had a couple different groups this year that I eventually had to integrate and clutter is what made the biggest impact on cutting down on any form of excessive pecking/bullying.

 

[thecatumbrella]

It's been a little over a week. We have been working on clutter and making some upgrades to their enclosure. I caught her again this afternoon harassing an Australorp on the Ring cam (pecking and kicking). She even received a smack on the head, but that didn't seem to slow her down.

I did discover that our Golden Comets are bred from Rhode Island Reds and Whites. I know RIRs can sometimes be bully birds.

Is this just normal chicken stuff? Legit bullying? Or is she just a little punk that needs to grow up a bit? If this is pecking order behavior, it feels a bit dirty... you don't take your shots when someone's trying to nap!

Video below. Any additional thoughts are welcome.

 

[Holdthechicken]

It's been a little over a week. We have been working on clutter and making some upgrades to their enclosure. I caught her again this afternoon harassing an Australorp on the Ring cam (pecking and kicking). She even received a smack on the head, but that didn't seem to slow her down.

I did discover that our Golden Comets are bred from Rhode Island Reds and Whites. I know RIRs can sometimes be bully birds.

Is this just normal chicken stuff? Legit bullying? Or is she just a little punk that needs to grow up a bit? If this is pecking order behavior, it feels a bit dirty... you don't take your shots when someone's trying to nap!

Video below. Any additional thoughts are welcome.

This doesn’t seem too aggressive to me. Almost appears like she’s grooming the black one, have you noticed any injuries or broken feathers recently? The black one doesn’t seem to be scared or running away like when they are being bullied (in my experience).

My rhode island reds are definitely the biggest jerks I have, but they’ve never caused any damage to another bird, they just throw a peck out when another one gets too close that they don’t like, and I have a few Bantams in with mine.

If she is causing damage and it’s just not noticeable on the video, I would put a kennel in the run and keep her locked in it with food and water for a bit to see if it causes her to chill out.

Lastly, all of my pullets are somewhat awful right before they reach POL, their hormones get going and they turn into nightmares. Since golden comets are production breeds I imagine she will start laying in the somewhat near future, she could just be a moody teen and in that case it should significantly calm down when she lays.

 

[Holdthechicken]

This doesn’t seem too aggressive to me. Almost appears like she’s grooming the black one, have you noticed any injuries or broken feathers recently? The black one doesn’t seem to be scared or running away like when they are being bullied (in my experience).

My rhode island reds are definitely the biggest jerks I have, but they’ve never caused any damage to another bird, they just throw a peck out when another one gets too close that they don’t like, and I have a few Bantams in with mine.

If she is causing damage and it’s just not noticeable on the video, I would put a kennel in the run and keep her locked in it with food and water for a bit to see if it causes her to chill out.

Lastly, all of my pullets are somewhat awful right before they reach POL, their hormones get going and they turn into nightmares. Since golden comets are production breeds I imagine she will start laying in the somewhat near future, she could just be a moody teen and in that case it should significantly calm down when she lays.

Btw, nice run!!

 

[thecatumbrella]

This doesn’t seem too aggressive to me. Almost appears like she’s grooming the black one, have you noticed any injuries or broken feathers recently? The black one doesn’t seem to be scared or running away like when they are being bullied (in my experience).

My rhode island reds are definitely the biggest jerks I have, but they’ve never caused any damage to another bird, they just throw a peck out when another one gets too close that they don’t like, and I have a few Bantams in with mine.

If she is causing damage and it’s just not noticeable on the video, I would put a kennel in the run and keep her locked in it with food and water for a bit to see if it causes her to chill out.

Lastly, all of my pullets are somewhat awful right before they reach POL, their hormones get going and they turn into nightmares. Since golden comets are production breeds I imagine she will start laying in the somewhat near future, she could just be a moody teen and in that case it should significantly calm down when she lays.

Thank you so much!

I haven't noticed any feather damage or injury; she's just being annoying, but I didn't want it to escalate if I could help it. I feel a lot better knowing yours were also hormonal! I have two about to pop out eggs any day, and the posturing has been a bit extra.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's been a little over a week. We have been working on clutter and making some upgrades to their enclosure. I caught her again this afternoon harassing an Australorp on the Ring cam (pecking and kicking). She even received a smack on the head, but that didn't seem to slow her down.

If I didn't know what I was looking for, I would've just assumed it was a bit of grooming and then a "shoo, you're done." So no, nothing concerning there. The Australorp seemed fairly unbothered by it.

 

[thecatumbrella]

If I didn't know what I was looking for, I would've just assumed it was a bit of grooming and then a "shoo, you're done." So no, nothing concerning there. The Australorp seemed fairly unbothered by it.

I had been wondering if chickens ever groom each other, or if it’s always assumed to be feather picking.