Hen jumping on another hen

[mottocytie]

To me a dominant hen mounting another in the absence of a rooster is not dangerous abhorrent behavior. It is not something I see that often but I have seen it. It is simply her showing her dominance. It's a way to enforce her authority as the dominant hen. As long as no one is being injured I see no reason to challenge that hen for flock dominance. I would not want her to think of me as a rival. As long as no one is being injured I let them be chickens. I don't see anything to punish with a time out or anything else.

Well, that’s what I thought, to just give it some time, but today however I saw her attacking the other hen in the coop and pecking her comb and neck feathers, then some time later I saw her attacking again and pulling out her neck feathers, so I think isolation will be the better option because it doesn’t seem to be getting better and might cause injuries now.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If it is an attack and is violent then it is a totally different situation from a hen mounting a hen. When a dominant hen is mounting another hen she follows much the same sequence and actions as a rooster mounting a hen. I'll copy something I wrote a few years back about roosters and hens for reference. They don't always do all of this but it's a good guide.

When they mount they do the head grab as discussed below. When a chicken is trying to injure or kill another chicken a common way is that they peck the head. They are trying to drill a hole into the brain which will kill them. This is violent and different to the head grab. You are looking at them, I'm not. If it is a violent attack with an attempt to injure or kill they need to be separated immediately. If it is just part of mounting behavior it is not a big deal. You have to rely in your judgment.


Mating Between Consenting Adults

1. The rooster dances to show his intentions. He lowers a wing and sort of sidesteps around the hen.

2. The hen squats. This gets her body on the ground so the rooster's weight goes into the ground through her body instead of just her legs. Most roosters of the same breed as the hen are heavier than the hen so the squat is nature's way of protecting her legs and joints.

3. The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. This head grab helps line him up right and helps him keep his balance, but the main purpose is to tell her to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. Without the head grab he would not be able to get to the target so there would be no fertile eggs.

4. The rooster touches her vent with his. That deposits the sperm. This may take a couple of seconds or may be over in a flash.

5. The rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up her feathers, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a special container where it can stay viable from a week to maybe three weeks.

It doesn't always go this way between adults. Sometimes the rooster does not dance but just grabs and hops on. No harm no foul, but it shows he does not have the self-confidence he should. Sometimes the hen runs away instead of squatting. The rooster may let her go or he may give chase. If he chases the hen may squat, she just wanted to know he was serious. He may stop the chase pretty quickly and let her go. He may chase her down and force her. As long as she squats and is not injured it's all OK. Even when he forces her it is usually not very violent.

 

[mottocytie]

Thanks for the info! Yes, now I’m starting to think it’s an attack maybe I just got confused at first because I saw her on top of the hen’s back just pecking her comb. The hens who are being attacked run away from her and don’t want to come near her. Whenever they come near her to eat she chases them away. This has never happened before, and only started happening when we moved the coop to the other side but it’s not too far away from its usual spot. I think isolation will be best because when I see her on top of the other hen, feathers fly out which could result to injuries. This is my first time owning chickens so obviously I don’t know as much or have experience. I was hoping to get some pictures or capture a video but it all happens so fast I don’t even have time to process it.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Whenever they come near her to eat she chases them away.

FIRST, consider.. add more feeders.. she can't defend them all. How much space is available to how many birds in total?

What you're describing sound *more* like she's being stew pidasso bully of a top hen.. then it does the "drilling a hole in the head attack" mentioned by the other poster.

It's okay for her to chase them away.. I was A LOT more willing to tolerate another's presence in my younger days than I am now..

I'm also not there and seeing it.. but by your description. Feathers flying is not an injury.

And "isolation".. if not done properly for any social creature is torture.. just for reference. Look but don't touch is a common practice for poultry.

Not my choice and varied result have been reported.. but a product called Pin-less Peepers has been used effectively by some keepers.

@azygous did you write an article about bullying dynamics or am I just remembering a post I've seen by you?TIA

 

[StinkyAcres]

My previous top hen, an EE, fell ill recently and my White Rock hen took over the top spot and just started mounting the other hens to show everyone who's the new boss.

 

[azygous]

Chicken psychology is definitely a "thing". Long ago, I had a Buff Brahma hen that was very timid by temperament, and she was being mercilessly bullied. Here's an article about what I learned. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/ Up until then, we all thought treating the bully was the way to deal with this sort of aggression. Read my article. There is a much better way to restore peace to a flock.

 

[mottocytie]

FIRST, consider.. add more feeders.. she can't defend them all. How much space is available to how many birds in total?

What you're describing sound *more* like she's being stew pidasso bully of a top hen.. then it does the "drilling a hole in the head attack" mentioned by the other poster.

It's okay for her to chase them away.. I was A LOT more willing to tolerate another's presence in my younger days than I am now..

I'm also not there and seeing it.. but by your description. Feathers flying is not an injury.

And "isolation".. if not done properly for any social creature is torture.. just for reference. Look but don't touch is a common practice for poultry.

Not my choice and varied result have been reported.. but a product called Pin-less Peepers has been used effectively by some keepers.

@azygous did you write an article about bullying dynamics or am I just remembering a post I've seen by you?TIA

Yes I have 3 feeders and there’s 7 hens, I have a pretty large run for them it’s like 120-150 square feet. Well, I know feathers flying out is not an injury but it could result into one if it continues happening because this hen does this about 6-7 times from what I’ve seen could be more. She only does it a couple particular hens not everyone. Yesterday when it was bedtime she grabbed the hen by her neck and jumped on her back and continue pecking her comb and neck feathers.

 

[RoyalChick]

To me a dominant hen mounting another in the absence of a rooster is not dangerous abhorrent behavior. It is not something I see that often but I have seen it. It is simply her showing her dominance. It's a way to enforce her authority as the dominant hen. As long as no one is being injured I see no reason to challenge that hen for flock dominance. I would not want her to think of me as a rival. As long as no one is being injured I let them be chickens. I don't see anything to punish with a time out or anything else.

 

[RoyalChick]

Chicken psychology is definitely a "thing". Long ago, I had a Buff Brahma hen that was very timid by temperament, and she was being mercilessly bullied. Here's an article about what I learned. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/ Up until then, we all thought treating the bully was the way to deal with this sort of aggression. Read my article. There is a much better way to restore peace to a flock.

Very interesting article.
Mostly I let mine sort it out between them, but I haven’t yet experienced any actual injuries in my flock from bullying.
My bully-turned-victim finally found enough confidence to roost with everyone else tonight, so I am hoping we are heading to a period of peace.

 

[mottocytie]

Chicken psychology is definitely a "thing". Long ago, I had a Buff Brahma hen that was very timid by temperament, and she was being mercilessly bullied. Here's an article about what I learned. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/ Up until then, we all thought treating the bully was the way to deal with this sort of aggression. Read my article. There is a much better way to restore peace to a flock.

Thanks this article was really helpful! Maybe that’ll work.