Chicken Pecking Order that has gotten out of hand...

[JensChickies]

This is a single bird with, what appears to be, a mean streak. If, by isolating her for a while, we are able to change her behavior so she (and all of the rest of the flock) can live harmoniously, I see nothing wrong with that.[/COLOR]

 

I agree. There are just mean hens out there, just like how there are nasty people. For me, my chickens are pets, so I am willing to do what it takes to help my flock. My chicken that has peepers....when she gets mean, I put them on, when she settles down I take them off. They are not always on her, in fact she hasn't had them on in about 2 months. They do help her calm down and stop pecking and jumping on the rest of my flock. As a "keeper" there are ways of helping and calming down a mixed flock.

 

[TalkALittle]

Tutu, I'd go ahead and give their diet a change. I'd eliminate all the extra snacks except for proteins. Just feed them their feed, the mealworms, and some cooked eggs. If you feel really bad about no other snacks, offer a bit of scratch in the morning. Logic would dictate that there's going to be one bird that exhibits symptoms of a dietary imbalance first, right? Maybe Bossy is just being bossy, or maybe there's something else going on with regards to diet that's causing the feather picking and eating. If nothing changes, then no harm done, add the treats back in.

 

[Tutu of 5]

I just completed another 3 days worth of sprouts, but, once those have been served up to the chickens, I will follow your advice to see if that helps mellow Bossy out.

Thanks!!

 

[Tutu of 5]

I agree. There are just mean hens out there, just like how there are nasty people. For me, my chickens are pets, so I am willing to do what it takes to help my flock. My chicken that has peepers....when she gets mean, I put them on, when she settles down I take them off. They are not always on her, in fact she hasn't had them on in about 2 months. They do help her calm down and stop pecking and jumping on the rest of my flock. As a "keeper" there are ways of helping and calming down a mixed flock.

Thanks! I agree. I ordered some of those peepers.

I also bandaged my little PBR's toe today and the hens are leaving her alone (especially Ms. Bossy). So that is good.

I think your point of keeping the peepers handy IN CASE they are needed is a good one. They will be in my First Aid Kit.

Again, Mahalo!

 

[Chris09]

But the OP has EEs, a Plymouth Rock and a RIR. Not primitive breeds. So what would you say the likelihood of this being a case with the potential for war? Would it be worth it for the OP to take some relatively minor measures to try and establish peace within the flock? In my (limited) experience with those breeds, if she did remove the RIR, I think it is probably unlikely that she would have any issues among the remaining birds.

As a side, it seems I've encountered many posts that talk of "mean" RIRs. Is there a hatchery that is putting out mean-tempered birds? Is this a breed trend? I've seen the same happen with dog breeds over the years. It's called the "popular sire" syndrome. Where a certain popular dog (or line) is bred from prolifically. In addition to the desirable traits, sometimes some not-so-desirable stuff comes along for the ride. What you end up with is a large proportion of that particular breed exhibiting that undesirable and uncharacteristic trait. I remember the RIRs I encountered as a youth being very "pecky"--more so than my grandmother's BOs and BRs.

I will assume that the op's chickens are from a hatchery, which means that they most likely carry a lot of Leghorn or other Mediterranean and not pure bred. Some line of Mediterranean breeds can be aggressive so the offspring can be a bit aggressive also. Hatcheries only care about the money, not anything else.

If it was me I would pull the weak bird that is getting pecked on. She is down on the pecking order and also needs proper care.

I have raised real R.I. Reds for a good many year and once a pecking order is set they live in fairly good harmony. The breed is not the problem,, the problem is the poor breeding by hatcheries and backyard breeders that really don't care for the breed.

 

[Chris09]

Following chickengeorgeto's way of thinking...."When we mix robust breeds of chickens (like RIRs) with chicken breeds that make good targets, don't punish the RIR for something that the chicken keeper helped start." I should be able to assume that ALL RIR's will torment every other bird in the flock, to the point of bloodshed. This is not the case.

Couldn't be any further from the truth.
Saying all R.I. Red are mean and are out for bloodshed is like saying all game fowl are mean and out for blood or all pitbulls are mean and out for blood.

True R.I. Red can be one of the best chickens you will ever have if they are bred and raised right.

 

[Tutu of 5]

I am thinking of putting the peepers (once I get them) on Bossy at bedtime, since that is when she attacked Braveheart's feet, and then letting her not wear them during the day, unless I see her misbehaving. Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Tutu of 5]

An update on my girls.... but first, I'd like to thank all of you who have joined this thread with helpful suggestions and advice. This is a great forum and I am grateful to all who run it and who keep it available to us.

To recap: I kept Bossy in a small cage with straw in it (changed daily), food and water, so that she could move around her cage, not far, but had enough room to circle around, climb into her food and water bowls (lol), build a little nest to lay me an egg everyday, and to sleep at night, and I placed the cage where she could see the rest of the flock, and them her.

After a few days, it was suggested to me to move Bossy out of eyesight of the other birds completely, as, changing up the pecking order and "reintroducing" her to the flock at the end of her "time out", was key in getting her (hopefully) to stop being so overly aggressive towards 3 of her flock mates. So, I moved her away from the other birds for an additional 6 days where she was protected and out of sight.

This "experiment" has been VERY successful so far! Bossy is actually becoming more of a team player. She chills out with the rest of the flock during the day, instead of running roughshod over the other girls and her previously aggressive behaviors are not evident...fingers crossed. She even forages alone sometimes, instead of chasing after my little EE, Baby, who is also my little huntress, stealing all of the treats she would find and, in general, brow beating her.

Always before, Bossy seemed to want to stir up trouble by continually chasing the other birds, and by just being a busy body, poking her beak into everyone elses scratched areas, stealing any worms, geckos or snails they might come across (especially Baby's). As, I am sure you all have seen, if one hen finds a treasure, most of the other in the flock will try their darndest to take it from her, and the antics can get pretty humorous. Bossy has now joined in on the FUN, rather than aggressively pecking the other birds, even after the found treat has been consumed.

The most fortunate thing which has come from separating Bossy from the rest of the flock for the past week or more, besides the fact that the flock seems so much happier and content, is that my little EE's, Baby and Goldie, and my PBR, Braveheart, aren't cowed and terrorized by Bossy anymore, and they stand up for themselves, happily stealing treasures from her without acting scared. They also protect they're nest box when they are sitting on it and Bossy wants the same one. Whereas before, if Bossy wanted that box, she'd peck their faces to the point of drawing blood, or climb in on top of them, until they gave it up. She might make some noise now, voicing her displeasure when "HER" box is occupied, but she knows better than to go all Rambo on the other hens it seems.

After allowing Bossy to hang with her flock mates, I continued to cage Bossy at night, for several nights, so she didn't pick up her old bad habit of biting feet and faces, drawing blood, while on the roost. As of last night, she is roosting with the rest of the flock, cuddling up to my other RIR, Kea, who has taken the top spot in the pecking order.


I haven't noticed any more feather eating on Bossy's part either, and, per all of your suggestions, I am cutting out all treats, except tuna, hard boiled eggs and mealworms, from the flocks diet. The 6 girls continue to give me 5-6 eggs everyday, and I get many compliments on their appearance and taste so that's good.

Again, mahalo all for your kind advice. If you would like, I will update this thread in a week or two to let you know how it's going. Aloha

 

[TalkALittle]

So glad to hear the news. If it continues to go so well, you may end up needing to choose a new name for Bossy, one that better suits her new demeanor. Definitely keep posting updates.

 

[Tutu of 5]

So glad to hear the news. If it continues to go so well, you may end up needing to choose a new name for Bossy, one that better suits her new demeanor. Definitely keep posting updates.

Haha....I was thinking the same thing! Maybe "Jailbird"? LOL Any suggestions out there?