Frustrated and confused….

[mldlm]

I have four chickens that are 9 months old and two that are 7 months old. They have been sharing the coop and run day and night for about the last three months and are doing well EXCEPT for one of the older ones. She is the bottom of the pecking order out of the 4. The only thing I can think of is that she doesn’t want the two newcomers to get ahead of her in the order?? The other three do fine with them. They basically ignore them for the most part. The one that won’t leave them alone is especially bad at bedtime. She will be a roost level above them with the other older ones and will go out of her way to peck at them. She is a blue australorp and the two younger ones are a black australorp and a speckled Sussex. She particularly messes with the speckled at bedtime, but will go after them both during the day. How can I stop this? I would think she would have adjusted to them by now, like the others seem to have. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

How can I stop this?

You can't without providing enough space so that the lower ranking birds have a place to get away from her. You could try lowering the lower roost so that she can't reach them when roosted.
It's quite typical for a lower ranking bird to beat down any younger or new comers to maintain her status in the pecking order and not drop any lower.

 

[azygous]

This is actually pretty typical, if not a pecking order unspoken rule. The picked-on shall become the bullies of the next lowest in the pecking order.

I have eighteen hens ranging in age from one year to eight years. The seven and eight-year olds are above it all, calmly roosting on their "reserved" spots on the perches each night while all the rest peck and fuss and argue over who gets to roost on the rest of the perching spaces.

Sometimes I get impatient and I grab the hens that seem to be getting shoved off, and I stick them where I see a wide space. That's almost always fruitless as whatever hen I stick them next to then takes great offense and pecks them back off the perch. It's maddening.

I sort of solved it by installing an "overflow" perch down low and away from the regular perches. I began putting the bullied hens there. After a while they began using that perch when they got tired of getting booted off the main roost.

This is a common problem. But it's their problem, not mine. They have plenty of roosting space, but they seem determined to make roosting time into a giant contest. It's just how chickens roll.

 

[SueT]

The lowest hen becomes the boss of any subsequent lower/younger ones.
I made roost dividers and it really stopped the bed time drama.

 

[azygous]

These are the dividers I installed on my perch in my main coop. It does help. But to make roosting time perfectly peaceful, there would need to be eighteen spaces. Breaking the long perch up into four spaces as far as I was willing to go.

 

[mldlm]

Thank you all for your input. It is frustrating

These are the dividers I installed on my perch in my main coop. It does help. But to make roosting time perfectly peaceful, there would need to be eighteen spaces. Breaking the long perch up into four spaces as far as I was willing to go.View attachment 3343592

Gorgeous setup!

 

[mldlm]

I may incorporate the ideas shared here and find a way to put another roost for the “lower” ones….thanks, again!

 

[ChickNanny13]

My "resolve" start a "flock" and stick with it. In the past I've always replace "old" with "new" which leaves a gap with egg production. This year I've added, works but not without issues that eventually gets resolved. I keep only 4/Pet with Benefits issue so decided what works best for me is "change out" or keep what I have.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

This is actually pretty typical, if not a pecking order unspoken rule. The picked-on shall become the bullies of the next lowest in the pecking order.

I have eighteen hens ranging in age from one year to eight years. The seven and eight-year olds are above it all, calmly roosting on their "reserved" spots on the perches each night while all the rest peck and fuss and argue over who gets to roost on the rest of the perching spaces.

Sometimes I get impatient and I grab the hens that seem to be getting shoved off, and I stick them where I see a wide space. That's almost always fruitless as whatever hen I stick them next to then takes great offense and pecks them back off the perch. It's maddening.

I sort of solved it by installing an "overflow" perch down low and away from the regular perches. I began putting the bullied hens there. After a while they began using that perch when they got tired of getting booted off the main roost.

This is a common problem. But it's their problem, not mine. They have plenty of roosting space, but they seem determined to make roosting time into a giant contest. It's just how chickens roll.

I gave up trying to understand roost time drama. I have 5 hens together since 3 days old. Access to over 8ft of roost space and Rosie gets up there every single night and marches back and forth daring any chicken to jump up there. When they do, she pecks them off. Fortunately, the other 4 devised a strategy. Coppertop will jump up on roost when rosie makes it to the end of roost, and pin her against the edge/wall, while the others all jump up. Although, 2 hens have decided the nesting boxes seem safe and warm for a drama free bedtime. I seriously cant stand roost time. I put them to bed and back away quickly. One time i tried to intervene. I took rosie off of the roost while the others jumped up. She was shaking in my arms with fear and so I put her back, apologized, and decided to pick my battles wisely. If they are smart enough to nominate Coppertop to jump up and pin her to the wall, then, they should be smart enough to figure it out. Their henhouse is safe, dry, and clean. Sleep on the floor for all I care. Lord knows I spend enough on the hemp bedding. I have a rule for myself now, to not view the camera or be there for roost time. I see 5 hens go into henhouse, i lock it up and head into human house shouting Good Luck everyone! Next morning my harmonious flock of 5 are BFF's again. Good luck, pick your battles wisely!