Brand New Flock: Hen pecks other hen's faces. Is this normal?

[IkeO]

Hi,

My wife and I just brought home our first ever flock (4 hens). On the drive home, inside the cage, one of the hens kept gently pecking the other hens in the face. right near their 'nostrils'. its not violent but it looks super annoying to the other birds. We thought "ok she is the bossy one" but its been the next day and we notice that this hen gently pecks the other's faces quite a lot.

I looked up videos of pecking order and I'm not sure if this is it. Like i said it's not violent but she will just gently peck their beaks over and over and over again until the other hen gets so annoyed that it moves away from her. Honestly it almost looks as if shes trying to eat of their nostrils (I know that sounds weird, but that's what it kinda looks like)

Is this still a pecking order thing, and is it normal? None of the other hens do this.

Thanks,

Ike

 

[GitaBooks]

Congrats on the new flock!


My chickens do this as well. It could be she is bored or it could be she is pecking at something like dirt on their faces. Gentle pecking is a different thing then pecking order, where the hen that is pecked usually screams and jumps away. It could be she learned this behavior because she was kept in a too small space and was bored, or they may have mites.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

 

[azygous]

Like Gita says, it's probably just grooming behavior if done gently and the recipient doesn't squawk in complaint. Watch carefully, though, to be sure face feathers aren't being plucked out. My EEs have irresistible beards and muffs that get "cleaned up" along with bits of food on them.

Usually it's a particular hen who appoints herself face cleaner. It's a compulsive act and she goes about plucking bits of food off others' faces, and they seem to rather enjoy it, holding still for the operation.