Do Hens do this or not??

[newchickenmommy]

I have a small flock of 4, 1 year old hens. I have had them only a few months but they get along really well. Today I got 2 new hens, they are just over a year old, Gold Laced Wyandottes. When I first put them in the pen together, one of the GL Wyandottes climbed on top of my smallest, most timid little BO girl and I would have sworn it was trying to have sex with her!! It was biting her comb and squatting down on her back and so help me I had to look at the website to see if a GL Wyandotte rooster looks different from the hens, because until I saw the pictures of the rooster I really had to wonder. After seeing the pictures of the GL Wyandotte roo, I know they are both hens. The roo's are very easy to distinguish from the hens. Why would a hen act like THAT to another hen??? It looked like chicken sex to me.

Is this normal or not?? I hope someone knows. Any help would or ideas would be appreciated. I really do feel stupid that I did not plan to separate them. I have to hurry and do something tomorrow before I go to work now.

Feeling REALLY stupid right now.

Sally

 

[Eggs4Sale]

I've had a dominant hen do that to a new hen to tell them "I'm the queen here and don't you forget it."

 

[quiltnchik]

I have no idea how to answer your question, though it does sound more like dominance behavior. However, shouldn't you have kept your new chickens quarantined for at least 30 days before introducing them to your established flock? Just something to think about in the future...

 

[robertndacia]

I have recently noticed the same behavior from one of my pullets. She is a 5 or 6 month old Australorp and she is getting on the back of my other Australorp the same age. The one on the bottom has always seemed to be at the top of the pecking order, but she seems submissive just as if it was a roo on top of her. What is up?

 

[cassie]

It is a dominence thing and I have seen females of many species do it. Also males may mount each other to establish dominence.