Does pecking order have any effect on egg-laying?

[Cheep]

I have 6 pullets, 23 weeks old. They are all laying, except one of my 2 EEs, Coco.
Since she is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order, I was wondering if that could affect her egg-laying?
I think it is so sad that someone has to be on the bottom

 

[Annabella]

I agree with feeling sad about the pecking order. I did with mine but after many months it isnt so noticeable any more, the pecking order. It seems to have settled down and that makes me feel a bit happier - cause its all about me isnt it!!

I don't know whether the pecking order has anything to do with the egg laying. There are enough nesting boxes for them all??

 

[Cheep]

Thanks for the reply; I only have one nest, and so far all 5 of them use it, but maybe she needs an other one.

 

[woodmort]

Once all the strife is over and the pecking order is established everyone should relax. At that point it shouldn't effect the egglaying. At one point one of my best laying bird was at the bottom of the order.

 

[CMV]

My best laying hen was at the bottom of the pecking order. She wasn't allowed access to the nesting boxes so she built a nest in the forest and used that. I would add another nesting box if I were you. It beats searching for hidden eggs.

Good luck.

 

[Cheep]

Thank you all for your replies. They have helped me. I actually went out last evening & added 3 new nests, which may have been too many, because today there are no eggs - & I've been getting 3-4 eggs every day for about a week.

I didn't actually decide to put in 3 more nests: I found an old pressboard cupboard, unpainted, which had 3 compartments, all the right size for nests. I put that in the coop, put some hay in & I guess it could have really flummoxed them.

(It just occurred to me as I was writing this, that pressboard is made with bad chemicals -?formaldehyde or something). But this thing is so old, they must have evaporated by now, I think).

 

[VioletBlueIvy]

I just built mine a nice 6 hole nest box complete with perches, and they didn't know what to do for the first couple days. The dominant hens are my RIR's and they are pretty fearless, so they still layed, and the others followed suit, all in one nest. But my more sensitive hens didn't lay until the next day or later, and their eggs were bigger than usual. It took them three weeks to start using some of the other boxes.
Something to think about is how will they go about getting in the nests, sometimes it takes them time to figure out how to get in there. Does it have a perch nearby? Mine like to look into the nests before they get in there and will perch nearby and look and look before they get in.
I every time I have added, moved, or taken away boxes they get all discombobulated. I think they really are creatures of habit and it takes them time to get used to things. It's normal I think.

 

[Cheep]

thank you so much, that is comforting to know.

 

[Nicola]

Quote:
yeah i had one like that..... there were 2 nest boxes though... and the 2 other hens wouldnt allow her in them... so she layed her egg at the bottom of the ramp... or near a rock

but now she is top hen and guards the nest box from the other 2 chickens that i replaced the mean ones with .. they r still pullets waiting on eggs.

 

[HarryBun12]

To turn your question around, I've noticed that egg-laying seems to affect pecking order, too. Last year when my dominant hen, a tiny bantam leghorn, went through her molt then took the winter off of egg laying, she definitely lost her power over the other hens who were laying. Then in spring when she began laying again she was once again queen of the coop! Such interesting critters to observe. Actually, I could observe them all day.