Change in pecking order after the first egg laid??

[sophie62]

Hey guys,

I'm kinda new to this but I have 3 hens (1 amber rock- she's white, 1 rhode rock- she's black & 1 columbian black tail- she's brown) which we brought home just over 3 weeks ago. During this time, they started establishing a pecking order and I noticed that the rhode rock (black one) was showing signs of being leader of the pack (pecking at the others and pushing her way through for food without the others making a fuss!) she was also the first to lay- we got our first egg yesterday morning!! But yesterday evening I found another 2 eggs- I think it might have been the amber rock (white one) as she's the only other one with a bright red comb and wattle signaling that she was also ready to start laying. Now I don't know if she laid both of those 2 eggs or maybe only 1 and the columbian (brown) laid 1, or if the rhode rock laid another, but since the 3 eggs were laid, the amber rock has been going mental and plucking feathers out of the rhode rock. To the point now that I noticed she's got a bald patch above her tail where the amber rock is pecking at her and it's red raw, maybe a little dried blood too from the amount of pecking. I don't know why she's pecking at her, I've put up more toys for them, mealworms to dig for, hanging vegetables to peck at but it's not stopped the pecking. Do you think that the amber rock is trying to re-establish a pecking order now they've started laying? Is that possible? The poor columbian black tail has always been the bottom of the pecking order and she seems to know her place as the amber rock doesn't ever peck at her, but the issue seems to be with amber rock almost bullying rhode rock. What do you think I should do? I don't want to separate them, they all share the same coop and run as I don't have any fences so I can't let them just roam in the garden - my garden backs on to a steep downwards bank so if any of them fell down there, i'd never be able to rescue or get them back! What shall I do??

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Some hens can get a little mean around the time they start to lay which can be a pecking order or hormone thing or some combo of the two. You might want to find a product called Blu-kote at the farm store which is an antiseptic that also camouflages the red skin. Any sign of red, especially blood, encourages pecking.

Is there a way to temporarily divide the run with some chicken wire to give the pecked hen a break?

 

[sophie62]

Thanks for the reply- I've just tried to google Blu-kote but I don't think we can get that here in England. Is there an alternative or any sort of home remedy I can use? I've taken a photo of the pecked spot and it looks like where the Amber rock has literally pulled out the feathers, it's caused a little bleeding and it looks really tender.

I don't know how to divide the run to cordon off the Amber rock from bullying the Rhode rock, the run is really long and narrow and only has one entry door so I can't reach around to the end. I have a pet crate which is cleaned out- it's quite big and I used it to transport my 2 cats to the vets, although it's big enough for 4 cats. Do you think I could use this to separate the Amber rock? How long should I keep her separated for? Thanks for your help

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Sorry I should have checked your location. I think Blu- Kote is similar to Gentian Violet. I have also read that pine tar can prevent pecking; it is really sticky and although it is said to have antiseptic properties, I don't know if that is proven. If you are thinking of putting Miss Amber Rock in the pet crate, then maybe you can use antiseptic ointment for humans on your chicken as long as it does not contain benzocaine.

I have used pet crates for my chickens, so I think that crate sounds big enough. I'm not sure how long you should keep her separated, maybe until the pecked spot looks less tender or the Amber Rock has less of an attitude. I guess that means watching how things go. If more people don't reply, you might try searching this sight for feather picking or feather pecking for more ideas (if you haven't done so already).

 

[sophie62]

Thanks!
Ok so crack of dawn this morning I went to let the chickens out in to the run and the bald patch has got worse, it looks a little bit like when I scrape the top layer of my skin and it starts to pus when trying to dry up to heal. I got the pet crate out, filled it with straw, threw in some corn and a bowl of water and pellets, grabbed the Amber Rock and put her in there. I have kept her facing the run so she can still see her pen mates but now she can't peck anyone. She started making a bit of fuss after I closed her in but unfortunately I can't see another way to solve the situation. The Columbian Blacktail doesn't peck at the Rhode Rock so I'm not worried that it'll get any worse. Maybe I'll just keep the Amber rock separated until the Rhode rock has healed, maybe a week or so?
I've not heard of that Gentian Violet before so I'll have a look online.
I'll keep you updated on progress!! Thanks again.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

The fuss about being locked in the crate was inevitable, but at least it will keep her from pecking.

 

[sophie62]

They haven't stopped, it's now become louder amd incessant, they're squawking at me, all 3 of them!!!! I hope they quieten down by bedtime!

 

[aggiemae]

My chickens all tend to be very noisy for weeks when they first start laying And since the laying takes longer and happens pretty muck any time of the day the noise seems endless but don't worry, before you know it, they will get in the box, lay an egg, sing their egg song and get on with their day.

 

[sophie62]

Ok, so since the Amber rock has been separated from the other 2, there's been a bit more peace. She quite likes it in the pet carrier I keep her in, she's been laying everyday since I put her in there and even when I let her out to clean the crate, she wants to go back in as soon as it's been cleaned!

The Rhode rock who was being bullied by the Amber rock has been less stressed out and she's only laid 1 egg since the pecking massacre, but should I be worried..??? The egg she laid had no shell (felt like a rubber egg with just a membrane) and it was blood stained. Do you think that's a sign she's ready to lay again? Should I be worried about the blood and no shell???

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Some new layers can produce irregular eggs, and it can take a while for their bodies to get into a routine and I would guess the recent stress did not help. At least Amber Rock seems to like her crate.