Chicken Politics

Is the first bar is for chickens who are higher in the pecking order?

  • Yes, the first bar is for chickens who are higher in the pecking order.

    Votes: 3 42.9%

  • No,

    Votes: 4 57.1%
  • Total voters
    7
Pics
Date sort Score sort
L

LJVician

Hatching
Jul 7, 2021
1
15
9
I have had chickens for about 25 years. Last year I was down to 1 hen, when my husband and son-in-law built me a beautiful new chicken palace with 4 nest boxes, a veranda for baby chicks to run around on and 2 roosting bars. I started up a new flock: 4 chicks from the local feed store, 2 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes and a White Leg Horn from a local farmer, a Rhode Island Red that hatched out of 9 fertile eggs that I ordered on-line. Since only one chick hatched out from the eggs that I ordered, I had to go buy her a buddy. So I went back to the local feed store and bought a White Rock pullet. She and the Rhode Island Red have been inseparable for 4 weeks; they roost side by side on the second bar, peck for food near each other etc.

Lately, when Little Red (the Rhode Island Red) and Whitey they take their usual place on the right end of the second roosting bar, the other chickens crowd them out. They end up crammed together on a small, uneven platform under the hens who took over their spot. When I move them to an open part, on the left end of the first bar, they get pecked by the hens on that bar, try to fly to the left end of the second roosting bar, and fall down into the poopy mess under the roosting bars.

There is plenty of empty space on the first bar. The second bar is close to the back wall of the chicken coop and is completely full of roosting hens. Maybe, in chicken politics, the first bar is for chickens who are higher in the pecking order? That would explain why there is plenty of room on the first bar, and why Little Red and Whitey get pecked when I put them on the first bar. Does that make sense to you experienced chicken owners?
 
Hi and welcome to BYC. There always seems to be a preferential roost and pecking order certainly comes into play. This link may help you navigate the site - “How to...” guides

Chat with other BYC members nearby using the links in my signature, below (turn your phone to landscape to see them).Make yourself at home and enjoy the forums.

Best wishes

Pork Pie
 
Clarify pls is 1 higher than the other? If so then yes because both physically and metaphorically shit goes down hill not up . So top of the pecking order won't want to be under or even lower than those lower in status. However if both are at same hight then no it will be environmental factors in play such as ventilation, draughts, access to food etc and may even change as environmental conditions do.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
The highest perch is the preferred perch and taken first by the higher ranking members of the flock. The youngest pullets will continue to struggle their way in the flock until fully mature and laying eggs. Then they will hopefully stand up for themselves a little better. In the meantime, they have each other. If you want to move them to a perch, wait until it is completely dark out and move them. If you move them when there is enough light for the other birds to see well, they will be driven off.
 
Sounds like a pecking order thing to me.

In my coops, the high roost is always the most desirable, so even if it means scrunching together, EVERYONE wants to be there -- usually leaving a second roost totally unoccupied.

I recently constructed (with a LOT of help), a new coop that has a double roost contraption with poop shelf; the lower roost -- I was sure -- would be used by the Cochin Bantams while the much larger Columbian Wyandotte and Bielefelder would sleep above. There's room for twice as many birds as I have in the coop.

The result? NO ONE uses the lower roost. I should have known better from the other multi-roost coops I have. Oh, well. It was a good lesson in construction for me and it looks mighty good :D. I often feel that our chickens just don't appreciate how hard we try to please them.

Congrats on the new coop, the new flock and on joining this great community! It's good to have you in our flock.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow

Chickens tend to sleep wherever the flock leader sleeps. When we built our coop and moved the adult chickens in, I had assumed the flock would sleep in a certain spot on a particular bar, but the flock leader picked a corner that looked undesirable to me, but they all followed and fought for that spot all their days. Your youngsters will eventually find their sleeping spots.

Welcome to our community!
 

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