Feel bad for lowliest pullet

[ladyhand]

I have four pullets that are about 8.5 weeks old and they’ve been together for the 8 weeks I’ve had them.

I have read how important their social hierarchy is to them and they’re not pecking the lowliest on the totem poll, it’s just she backs out of the way when I give treats and doesn’t get as much. She does seem to have mostly paired off with one of the other pullets as her “person”, but sometimes she also lays by herself. She’s so timid she’s often the hardest to get in the coop at night and I can’t bring to the side for a special treat.

how do you handle their pecking orders and feeling bad for the ones that are at the bottom?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

First of all, know that given fresh nutritious complete chicken feed formulated for their age, treats are unnecessary and sometimes detrimental.
Larger space with widely separated feeding areas helps tremendously and still know that missing out on a treat isn't the same thing as missing out on essential healthful nutrition.

 

[ladyhand]

First of all, know that given fresh nutritious complete chicken feed formulated for their age, treats are unnecessary and sometimes detrimental.
Larger space with widely separated feeding areas helps tremendously and still know that missing out on a treat isn't the same thing as missing out on essential healthful nutrition.

By treats I mean fruits and veggies. They have constant access to feed and they free range all day. I just feel sad for her.

 

[aart]

how do you handle their pecking orders and feeling bad for the ones that are at the bottom?

I don't anthropomorphize.

There will always be a low bird.
As long as they get to eat/drink/rest/roost and are not chased/pinned/bloodied....
......just let chickens be chickens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

By treats I mean fruits and veggies. They have constant access to feed and they free range all day. I just feel sad for her.

Don't be sad. They are being chickens and she has chosen to be more timid.
While fruits and veggies are nutritious in their own right, it doesn't mean they are adding a nutrition boost. What they are adding is a reduction in amino acids.

 

[Boise-girls]

To some degree, it is what it is, as others have pointed out. Thanks to advice from BYC members, I've learned the importance of multiple feeding stations, hiding spots, and various ways to break line-of-sight so the lower ranking hens can get out of harm's way.

Sometimes you have to trick or distract the bossy ones. If my cochins aren't letting the others through the pop door at roosting time, I'll throw out a handful of scratch. The cochins will run out for that, and the others can usually sneak in.

If I'm throwing out treats, I'll do some obvious stuff for the higher ranking hens, and discretely drop some behind me for the little Sebrights, who figured it out pretty quickly!

 

[Sally PB]

When it's "snack time," I put their favorite snack (their food, wetted into a mash) in two or three pie pans for the 4 adult birds. The low hen can then eat a little bit before the middle hen bosses her out of the way.

Oddly enough, the low hen is the first to get to the Japanese beetle feast I bring them this time of year. You go, girl!

The three chicks get their snack separately, as they aren't in with the adults yet. They will all eat together and no one drives anyone away. That will change, probably.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just remember that even the lowest bird in the pecking order still belongs to the pecking order. So even if you feel bad for her, as far as she's concerned, she still has a flock to belong to and other chickens to interact with.

Besides, even if she was no longer there or no longer at the bottom, then another bird would be. Even with just 2 or 3 birds, someone has to be on the bottom.

 

[ladyhand]

Just remember that even the lowest bird in the pecking order still belongs to the pecking order. So even if you feel bad for her, as far as she's concerned, she still has a flock to belong to and other chickens to interact with.

this is beautiful and probably the only thing that could have given me peace. Thank you!

 

[3KillerBs]

Besides, even if she was no longer there or no longer at the bottom, then another bird would be. Even with just 2 or 3 birds, someone has to be on the bottom.

Key point.

The pecking order is part of the nature of chickens.