Change in pecking order after the first egg laid??

[sophie62]

I hope she gets better soon then. She laid another one this morning without a shell, the membrane broke so it just looks like a raw poached egg! I've got a pot of oyster shell grit for them to eat but maybe she's not eating enough or doesn't like them. I'll wait for them to get back to normal eggs before re-introducing the Amber rock back in to the coop.

 

[sophie62]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h0z2iuuiw1i7p0k/Photo 24-06-2013 08 52 52.jpg
This is the egg the Rhode rock laid yesterday morning, looks like a raw boiled egg, really rubbery but with no shell


https://www.dropbox.com/s/zpmorpv47ekyhd7/Photo 24-06-2013 08 51 46.jpg
This is what she laid this morning, the membrane seems to have burst so it looks like a wrinkly raw poached egg!

I've got a tub of oyster shell and grit in the coop but maybe she's not eating enough or her body's still stressed out from being bullied by the Amber rock :-(

 

[Dwerker]

Hi,

I've just joined and noticed you have the same combination of chickens as we have. Did the pecking order sort itself out? Our Amber Rock is the most laid back of the three.

 

[sophie62]

Hi,
No we still have bullying issues! The Amber Rock now has to be completely separated from the other 2 because we noticed that even when all 3 had the full run of the garden, she would just run around following the others and start pecking the other 2 and wasn't at all interested in pecking grass or worms/insects in the ground. She was only interested in pecking the other chickens! The other 2 seem a lot happier now we've moved the Amber Rock in to a pet carrier, and the pecking order now is simply the Rhode Rock then Columbian Blacktail, but we've had to endure a lot of lost feathers and bloody wounds in the mean time. I wish our Amber Rock was as laid back as yours!! How is the pecking order working out with yours?

 

[Dwerker]

Oh dear - it sounds like she has a personality disorder! Did you get them all at the same time from the same place? I've been helping my neighbour out for a couple of years, looking after his chickens when he goes on holiday (that's what prompted us to get our own) and I know when he introduces new birds, there's a lot of aggressive behaviour (he has got 17 now).

There doesn't seem to be a definite pecking order now that all three of mine are laying. The only strange behaviour is the Blacktail moving the Amber Rock's eggs into the nesting box (the Amber Rock lays them where she roosts). Do you have to let the Amber Rock out separately from the other two?

 

[sophie62]

Yes I bought all 3 on the same day from Taylor Made Chickens by the Endsleigh Garden Centre. I've been back there to seek help from Matt there and he's suggested a few things but nothing has helped and I've resorted now to keeping the Amber Rock separate from the other 2.
There were never any problems with moving eggs or laying them in strange places, they were all laying in the nesting box but now I've separated the Amber Rock, I have to let the other 2 out first for 4-5 hours and then put them back in and let out the Amber Rock for the rest of the daylight hours so she can stretch her legs.
This is the only way she won't peck at them, but saying that, even when I let her out on her own, the first thing she does is run straight for the chicken coop and try to attack the others through the chicken wire!!!!! She's an absolutely crazy chicken!!!

 

[Dwerker]

That's where we got our chickens - a couple of people I know recommended Matt. A friend of mine did have to take one of her chickens back as it kept going for the other ones - sounds like your Amber Rock. Are they all laying ok?

 

[sophie62]

Yes they all lay fine now, we had a few issues at the start where the Rhode Rock was laying shell-less eggs and sometimes didn't lay for a day or 2 but when she laid finally they were double yolkers!
Now they all lay fine though, each lays 1 a day no problem, I'm just waiting now for production to slow down as winter fully kicks in. I'm waiting for them to moult too, have yours started moulting yet?

 

[Dwerker]

No - I don't think ours will moult until next year - our neighbour is a bit of an oracle on chicken keeping as he's been doing it for a few years and has 17 now - he reckons that they won't moult in the first year.He keeps different varieties of pure breeds, not hybrids like ours and some of them are really strange looking! Our Rhode Rock started off with double yolkers as well and her eggs seem bigger than those of the other two. Have you got names for your chickens? My husband is Dutch so he chose Dennis for the Rhode Rock (after a certain Dutch footballer!), my son chose Hayley for the Black Tail as that's the singer in one of his favourite bands (Paramore) and my daughter chose Misty for the Amber Rock - something to do with Sonic I think!

 

[sophie62]

Haha! My chickens are Kentucky, Nando and Korma!
When we first got them they took ages to lay and after about 3 weeks I was getting fed up of constantly cleaning them out and feeding them with no results!! So I told my boyfriend if they don't start laying soon I'm going to donate them to their respective restaurants!! And Korma has a curry pot waiting with her name on it!!
Luckily they did stay laying within the next week and they were saved!