Didnt realize they fight.....

[j71]

so last night when the girls went in coop for evening....Instead of just closing the door up I hung out in the doorway for a few...


They each jump up and go to roost....

Thge one bird on the left side for some reason HAD TO be on the right side?

She was literally squeezing herself under the hen next to her....like a army crawl.....inch by inch in an attempt to get to the other side....the hen in the way wasnt too happy and was pecking at the hen beneath her....stomping on her a bit even....

this went on for a few minutes until she reached the opposite side....

then, I guess things were in better order??

Here I always thought my birds were all besties and what not.....but I assume this is common??

Have youseen this type of behavior before?

All in all I only have 5 birds and they have plenty of room to roost comfy....

TY!

 

[chicmom]

Yep, it's normal behavior. Mine all line up on the roost. It's funny--a few of them come in earlier and i think it's to get the "best" spot. They also use the same nesting box--I've got two identical boxes, right beside eachother, and they ALL will literally wait in line for the box on the right! And there are 12 laying hens!

Silly girls! Oh well!

 

[Oven Ready]

Perfectly normal - we've got seventy odd and it takes them thirty minutes to find the 'right' place to sleep.
If you check on them every night, you'll find that they usually sleep in the same place every night. No amount of free perching area will attract them away from 'their' spot no matter how hard it is for them to get there.

Chickens - Mad as sixpence, all of them.

 

[SmittenChicken]

I just had a similar realization last night! I rarely see my chickens pick on each other during the day, so it's funny to see them be so nasty to one another on the roost. I hung out and watched them go through their routine, it's interesting to see how the pecking order has changed! Chicken politics are so interesting...
One of my Sussex went from being extremely cuddly to a little timid recently, last night I realized that she seems to be at the bottom of the totem pole now! She used to sleep on the other roost with the cool girls, but last night I saw her on the "reject roost" getting bullied by Tender and Cutlet the EEs, who I thought were the lowest chickens.

I also assumed the leader in my coop was a very vocal and feisty BSL named Sesame, but after observing last night's antics it would appear that I had the top two mixed up - it looks like the big boss is a very sweet EE named Szechwan, and Sesame is just her henchman.

 

[DDRanch]

Yes, it seems to be normal. Mine are the best of pals all day long, but when it comes time to roost, they have to
sleep in "exactly" the same spot as the night before. So, there is some pushing and shoving. 5 of my hens have
about 15 feet of roosting perch and every night they huddle into the same 2 foot section. 2 sleep in the nesting boxes
and my older hens sleep on top of the nesting boxes. Everyone has a favorite place.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
I had to laugh at this, because my lead hen is sweet/easy going too, while her 2nd in command (whom most folks would assume was the top hen by watching the little tyrant) is the evil one...

Oh yes...my tiny flock goes through this nightly ritual as well

 

[calicokat]

The wanting to put their heads under the next door neighbor was crazy to me, until we hatched baby chicks. Now I get it.

When they are little with a mama hen, they all crowd under her wings to sleep. Both for safety and for warmth. So it's probably a comfort thing to tuck their head under their neighbor, it helps them feel safe & fall asleep, just like they learned to do as babies. I told my daughter that it's "chicken thumb sucking" - just comforting themselves to sleep, LOL

Of course, who wants to sleep with a full sized chicken head tucked under you? So that's why we see the peck, peck, pecking as they try this and get rejected.

 

[ams3651]

the pecking order, I hear mine every night squawking and fussing and apparently the rooster does not get first pick.

 

[33yardbirds]

Everynight

 

[chicknerd]

I have two who go in early especially to get 'that special spot'. The rooster is always in a different place and everyone else is in a different order, but those two are always on the roost at the wall.

I have also watched the moving around trying to vie for position if they are late getting in. Hilarious to watch.