Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ali James]

@Ali James The hardest thing will be not interfering. It all seems mean and possible vicious to our eyes but it is usually just normal for them. I try to make sure no one is seriously injured and like a rooster I make sure the bottom of the order gets their share of treats. If there were to be serious bullying I would remove the offending hen for a while but I have really never had to interfere.

Chickens have a complex social structure and I love to watch the interplay between then all.

A quick Daisy story. Daisy was undisputed alpha of our 3 hens at that time. She would peck a little at Patsy on the roost at night but nothing serious. They roosted, next to each other in order from left to right,
1 Daisy
2 Patsy
3 Lilly

Frankly, I always thought that Patsy was exceptionally mean to Lilly on the roost. Occasionally when Patsy was being too mean Daisy would intervene by grabbing Patsy's comb and violently shaking her head with it. That always stopped Patsy.

A good alpha hen will keep things running well.

Now alphas expect first dibs of all food. Daisy was not a great scratcher but she quickly figured out that Patsy was. Patsy had big strong legs and she could dig. So Daisy would hang out all day with Patsy. As Patsy dug, Daisy would stick her head in the freshly cleared area and take first choice of what was brought up. It was astonishing to watch because Patsy was much larger than that little leghorn but she let it go on.

You can see Daisy checking out what Patsy has dug up in this photo. The day in the garden she did not scratch once. She let Patsy do all the work.
View attachment 1855947

Pecking order is determined less by the size of the chicken but more by the size if the fight in the chicken.

It's kind of sad right now to watch Aurora and Maleficent. Since the change is order, Maleficent is reminding Aurora everytime they get near each other. Frankly this means the two of them are alone a lot right now as Aurora runs away when she gets close. Meanwhile Hattie and Lilly continue to hang together. This will eventually pass but for now it's a little sad.

Thanks Bob; this is really helpful. I completely agree that I'm going to find it difficult not to interfere! I have read that unless blood is drawn I should stay away from their politics; would you agree?

How funny about Daisy! And Patsy just letting her!

 

[BY Bob]

Thanks Bob; this is really helpful. I completely agree that I'm going to find it difficult not to interfere! I have read that unless blood is drawn I should stay away from their politics; would you agree?

How funny about Daisy! And Patsy just letting her!

It really is best to let it be. I just watched poor Aurora lose prime scratching spots to both Lilly and Maleficent but no one was hurt and there are plenty more good spots. We err in applying human rules to them. The best rule is "As long as there is no blood, let it be".

 

[Ribh]

Hi Ribh,

Thanks for the info; I'm going to watch with interest when they arrive!

This is a link to the supplier we will be using. Are there any breeds they have you would suggest? (Ignore the sold out bits - the website is not fully up to date)
https://www.upsonscountrystore.co.uk/poultry/hens/

I don't have any experience with hybrids. I do have Barred Rocks & love them. Friendly. Good layers. Dual purpose, so quite large ladies. They can be fairly domineering. Sussex are on my list for acquiring. They are supposed to be a fairly calm bird. My experience with Leghorns hasn't been great but @BY Bob has & loves them. He could tell you about those. I have steered away from a lot of the red breeds [Rhode Island Reds, New Hamphshires & their Xs] because while they are good layers they tend to bullying & are more aggressive, though people who have them really love them. A lot depends on what you want in your flock. I like a calm flock so don't mind a bit of flightiness & personality so long as aggression is minimal. I won't replace the Australorps I had. Loved 'em but not a good fit with the rest of my flock.
Here has reviews of lots of different breeds:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/

 

[BY Bob]

I don't have any experience with hybrids. I do have Barred Rocks & love them. Friendly. Good layers. Dual purpose, so quite large ladies. They can be fairly domineering. Sussex are on my list for acquiring. They are supposed to be a fairly calm bird. My experience with Leghorns hasn't been great but @BY Bob has & loves them. He could tell you about those. I have steered away from a lot of the red breeds [Rhode Island Reds, New Hamphshires & their Xs] because while they are good layers they tend to bullying & are more aggressive, though people who have them really love them. A lot depends on what you want in your flock. I like a calm flock so don't mind a bit of flightiness & personality so long as aggression is minimal. I won't replace the Australorps I had. Loved 'em but not a good fit with the rest of my flock.
Here has reviews of lots of different breeds:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/

Leghorns made me lovers of chickens. So I am biased; I admit it. However here is what I try to tell everyone about leghorns in as unbiased a fashion as I can.

Good:

• Prolific layers of XL white eggs and by prolific I mean exceptional. I don’t believe any other breed could lay more. My Daisy once laid 360 eggs in 365 days, right through a bad winter and her molt.
• Extremely Curious and I believe therefore Intelligent. This makes them very teachable.
• Friendly. If engaged they will want to know what you are up to and will hang around and even come visit you. To be blunt, I believe that if you engage them early and keep them engaged they will “flock” to you.
• Entertaining. Their curiosity leads them into interesting situations. They are never boring and will do some strange things. I believe this is where part of the “flighty” description comes from. (Of course they ARE very good fliers).

Bad:

• They are escape artists. You combine intelligence, curiosity, with the ability to fly and you better have a solid coop and run structure. Otherwise they will find that one weakness and exploit it.
• They Fly. If they get out they are liable to fly from you and even roost very high in trees. I have seen them successfully fly over 20 feet along the ground.
• Reproductive Issues. Because they lay so many large eggs I believe they have more reproductive issues than other chickens. This is why when Daisy passed from salpingitis I looked elsewhere for breeds, going with an Orpington and Easter Eggers.

I am sure that someday I will indulge in leghorms again but I was so close to my last three leghorns, Trisha, Elphie, and the greatest hen ever, my dearest Daisy, that I still cannot bear the thought of another leghorn right now.

The reason you are getting chickens should be a guide to what breeds you look at. If you are looking to them as being pets, and 4 hens leads me to think that you are thinking just that way, as I do. Then to me friendliness of the breed would be my #1 requirement.

Also consider if they will be able to free range occasionally or will live their lives in confinement. Some hens bear confinement better than others. Leghorns for example will always be looking for a way to break out.

1 Warning: The characteristics of a breed listed in any description are generalizations. Every chicken has its own personality. You can get an unfriendly Orpington for example.

 

[Kris5902]

Yes, when you bring the girls home @Ali James there will certainly be a re-arrangement of the pecking order, but they will work it out fairly quickly. I find there’s a little less pressure and things are less obvious with the larger and free ranging flocks. The more space they have the better! I love the descriptions of pecking order and social interactions @Ribh and @BY Bob gave. It really is fascinating. And if you add in a Rooster it changes things completely!

Right now I Free Range one of my Roosters and his girls, 2-4 depending on the health of my recuses. Sometimes he will try to challenge me, but when it’s time to head for the roost I bring out some meal worms. And he takes them one at a time, ever so gently from me, and gives them one by one to his girls as we lead them back to the tractor. I have two other Roosters in with different sets of ladies for breeding, both have very different personalities and different flock dynamics from my mixed flock, my uniform flock, and my small “recovery” group.

 

[Kris5902]

Leghorns made me lovers of chickens. So I am biased; I admit it. However here is what I try to tell everyone about leghorns in as unbiased a fashion as I can.

Bad:

• They Fly. If they get out they are liable to fly from you and even roost very high in trees. I have seen them successfully fly over 20 feet along the ground.

I wouldn’t necessarily put the flying into the “bad” column... but it can occasionally be a bit of a challenge as well as entertaining! The Roo I’m free ranging, Sammy, is 1/2 (maybe more...) Leghorn and he’s even been teaching his hy-line red GF to fly! She tries now at least... I let them out and she takes off like a shot running and flapping... she occasionally even gets a few feet of air. Leghorns are awesome, even if a handful and needing plenty of space.

 

[Ali James]

Leghorns made me lovers of chickens. So I am biased; I admit it. However here is what I try to tell everyone about leghorns in as unbiased a fashion as I can.

Good:

• Prolific layers of XL white eggs and by prolific I mean exceptional. I don’t believe any other breed could lay more. My Daisy once laid 360 eggs in 365 days, right through a bad winter and her molt.
• Extremely Curious and I believe therefore Intelligent. This makes them very teachable.
• Friendly. If engaged they will want to know what you are up to and will hang around and even come visit you. To be blunt, I believe that if you engage them early and keep them engaged they will “flock” to you.
• Entertaining. Their curiosity leads them into interesting situations. They are never boring and will do some strange things. I believe this is where part of the “flighty” description comes from. (Of course they ARE very good fliers).

Bad:

• They are escape artists. You combine intelligence, curiosity, with the ability to fly and you better have a solid coop and run structure. Otherwise they will find that one weakness and exploit it.
• They Fly. If they get out they are liable to fly from you and even roost very high in trees. I have seen them successfully fly over 20 feet along the ground.
• Reproductive Issues. Because they lay so many large eggs I believe they have more reproductive issues than other chickens. This is why when Daisy passed from salpingitis I looked elsewhere for breeds, going with an Orpington and Easter Eggers.

I am sure that someday I will indulge in leghorms again but I was so close to my last three leghorns, Trisha, Elphie, and the greatest hen ever, my dearest Daisy, that I still cannot bear the thought of another leghorn right now.

The reason you are getting chickens should be a guide to what breeds you look at. If you are looking to them as being pets, and 4 hens leads me to think that you are thinking just that way, as I do. Then to me friendliness of the breed would be my #1 requirement.

Also consider if they will be able to free range occasionally or will live their lives in confinement. Some hens bear confinement better than others. Leghorns for example will always be looking for a way to break out.

1 Warning: The characteristics of a breed listed in any description are generalizations. Every chicken has its own personality. You can get an unfriendly Orpington for example.

Thanks Bob, your'e right. Our chickens are going to be pets and so need to be friendly and pretty chilled out.

They will live in a run and I plan to do some basic behavioural conditioning to get them to come to me i.e. mealworms! Then once they reliably come to the sound of mealworms, I want to let the out in the garden for a bit, supervised of course, and then be able to bribe them back into the run.

 

[Ali James]

Yes, when you bring the girls home @Ali James there will certainly be a re-arrangement of the pecking order, but they will work it out fairly quickly. I find there’s a little less pressure and things are less obvious with the larger and free ranging flocks. The more space they have the better! I love the descriptions of pecking order and social interactions @Ribh and @BY Bob gave. It really is fascinating. And if you add in a Rooster it changes things completely!

Right now I Free Range one of my Roosters and his girls, 2-4 depending on the health of my recuses. Sometimes he will try to challenge me, but when it’s time to head for the roost I bring out some meal worms. And he takes them one at a time, ever so gently from me, and gives them one by one to his girls as we lead them back to the tractor. I have two other Roosters in with different sets of ladies for breeding, both have very different personalities and different flock dynamics from my mixed flock, my uniform flock, and my small “recovery” group.

How sweet! Bet he can be a devil too though... I will definitely not be having a rooster. We live in a suburban area with neighbours all around us. They are all looking forward to the girls arriving, but were very clear they would not welcome a rooster

 

[BY Bob]

Thanks Bob, your'e right. Our chickens are going to be pets and so need to be friendly and pretty chilled out.

They will live in a run and I plan to do some basic behavioural conditioning to get them to come to me i.e. mealworms! Then once they reliably come to the sound of mealworms, I want to let the out in the garden for a bit, supervised of course, and then be able to bribe them back into the run.

This is a great strategy and one I employ with mine. I will add one more idea. Do you have Cheese-It crackers where you live? (With the global nature of this group I feel I need to check) If so, they are a fabulous training tool. They will take them from your hand and mine all go crazy for them. It is the number one tool I use to individually train a hen.

 

[Ali James]

This is a great strategy and one I employ with mine. I will add one more idea. Do you have Cheese-It crackers where you live? (With the global nature of this group I feel I need to check) If so, they are a fabulous training tool. They will take them from your hand and mine all go crazy for them. It is the number one tool I use to individually train a hen.
View attachment 1856327

We have very similar things in the UK, but I guarantee my husband will want these as much as the chickens! Maybe I could train him too?!