buff orpington and araucana

[WildDoeDeer]

okay, so today i went outside to collect eggs. my Buff Opington and Araucana (only two chickens) came running up to, i went to there coop and there was no eggs (they do usually lay in the late afternoon) so i grabbed the bucket that held corn, oatmeal and other seeds i sat down and took a handful out like i normally do and my Araucana grabbed the Buff by the waddle and yanked her away and then pecked her in the eye. i freaked out and only gave the Buff the seeds and yelled no to the Araucana. i don't know what got into her? can anyone help? i don't want my Buff to bleed or worse!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

LOVE your avatar!

Your Araucana probably just got jealous and greedy and is obviously the leader of the two. But know that this is normal especially when food is involved. Make sure they have plenty of space and feed. Rub some coconut oil on the wound if needed.

Good luck!

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard chickens

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

As Mountain Peeps said, your Araucana is likely more dominant and exercised her power by driving the other bird away from the food. When I give my chickens treats, the dominant hens often peck at the other chickens to make them go away. To solve this when feeding treats, put down small piles of treats in different places so that they aren't clustered together and every bird can get something to eat.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

As the above posters have said, this is a pecking order thing. One is dominant over the other. I know it is hard to watch this sort of thing but it does go on in everybody's flock. Mine included! Try feeding them treats differently as when there is food involved, one of them can become aggressive. Sprinkle the treats wide on the floor so there is plenty of space, or feed them in several separate tubs. Then when they are each off doing something different, you can hand feed your favorites. Unfortunately you can't train this out of them so you need to adjust you you work with them. This is common in every flock. As long as nobody gets really hurt, then don't worry about it. If one of them does turn really mean, you may need to cage the meanie for a while or use pinless peepers on the meanie.

Good luck with your flock and keep up all the lovin'!

 

[WildDoeDeer]

Thank you for the advise it is really helping

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Thank you for the advise it is really helping

Good luck with them!

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

X2 on the other posters. Good luck with your birds!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! There is a nice article in the Learning Center on Pecking Order you might like also https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/a-guide-to-understanding-the-chicken-pecking-order