Do hormones when egg laying starts cause a timid chicken to be more confident?

[SmotherHen]

My first breed as a new chicken mum was 6 ISA Brown chicks. They are a hybrid production hen. I don't regret it but they do have strong personalities. They have a strict pecking order and will maintain the top two positions with strong pecks. They are not friendly with outsiders. I'm trying to introduce 4 timid Wyandottes for the past couple of months now. The ISA's will All bully the younger wyandottes (8 mos. old). QUESTION: I'm hoping when the wyandottes start laying eggs that their hormones will cause them to stand their own ground. Do you have any experience with that? Other than that issue, I find the ISA Browns to be very chatty, great fun to be watch, not flighty, in fact they stay in a run that is very large but only 4 feet high fence and they don't try to fly over it, are good foragers and very good layers. They have strong personalities and each are unique. One is fairly laid back and doesn't mind being picked up or handled, she's the "assistant leader". One hates being picked up. The other 4 will tolerate being handled. None are cuddly. All were hand raised and handled often as chicks by my husband and I.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know if it is hormones or what, could be, but I find until my pullets start laying they are generally lower in the pecking order. There are exceptions but mine will generally avoid the adults. If they invade the adults' personal space they might get pecked. It's as if when they start to lay they move from aggravating teenager to adult status. As I said there are exceptions both ways but you will probably see improvement when they start to lay.

 

[Faiyumi]

The hormones definitely play a part in a chickens desire to defend her brood. This may appear as more confidence or more aggression. This would definitely earn her some ranks in the pecking order. There are so many overlooked psychological responses in chickens.

Any pecking order changes, will take time for all of them to sort out. The ones who don't lay eggs are definitely not high up on the pecking order. This can lead the lower pecking order chickens into being stressed, having depression or a cowardly attitude. All of these lead to more bullying from those higher up. Generally speaking I think chickens see this as bad for the flocks survival and go after them harder.

Once a hen begins laying, she is now contributing to the flocks prosperity. The other hens absolutely recognize this and add it to the reasons to respect her. This doesn't mean she is instantly accepted into the flock. There are many reasons why a flock can still be aggressive towards a younger hen.

A scared and weak chicken is always going to be picked on. Until he or she learns to defend themselves, they will be seen as a problem for the flock. Sometimes you get a little chick with no fear and that chick will climb the ranks very fast and early.

I've seen one of my top "predators" fall to the bottom of the pecking order because she went after a pullet who was no threat to her. Everyone attacked her and she became a recluse for a month. Chicken's brains and social understanding are more complex than we can possibly imagine. But laying eggs and defending the brood (the hormones) absolutely play a large part of their acceptance.

You will definitely see improvements around the time they lay. That said some chickens are just extremely aggressive and will pick on anyone below them. You fix this by removing the aggressor from the flock for about 2-4 weeks. Sometimes it helps to take two chickens away. Never the top two. Take the top ranked aggressor and fourth ranked. Your goal is for the second or third ranked chicken to become the leader. Once they are all reintroduced, expect a couple weeks of pecking, but this usually will do the trick. It may take a few attempts but it does work wonders.

Those who actually bring chicks into the flock and not just eggs are also seen as very valuable members. Those who brood without much success are usually lowered a bit on the order as well, but not too much.

Lastly some breeds just hate other breeds. Nothing you do will likely fix this.

 

[SmotherHen]

Hi Faiyumi, Thank you for answering my post! I've suspected things would get better after they start laying and appreciate the detail and points that you introduced.