Hen picking on other hen

[New Hen Mama]

Ok٫ long story short here.. about a year or so ago.. a hen appeared in my yard .. wouldn't leave٫so now she's mine .. Named her Lucy. About 2 months ago I got her a friend.. another Rhode Island Red.. named her Ethel.. They get along great .. but..the last couple of days when I reach down and pat Ethel٫Lucy attacks her and jumps on her when I put her down .. Is she jealous csuse now another hen is getting attention? Lucy has always acted more like a dog then a chicken..but I have never seen her act this way before.. Any ideas??

 

[AidKD]

I would venture to say probably so. Or pecking order. Does she pick on her any other time?

 

[New Hen Mama]

I would venture to say probably so. Or pecking order. Does she pick on her any other time?

No٫ they get along great.. They been together months now. I am new with this chicken thing and never seen such.lol

 

[TARDIS37379]

If treats are involved when you pay attention to them, that can exacerbate it and make them go at each other.
I had sister RIR and they fought over cranberries but nothing else

 

[thepick4uchicks]

If treats are involved when you pay attention to them, that can exacerbate it and make them go at each other.
I had sister RIR and they fought over cranberries but nothing else

I have had an exact situation among my sweetest ever Swedish Flower Hens who are sisters. The lead pullet as I call her because she is just 16 weeks as my entire flock of nine are and all are just three breeds of three each so they all act as sisters anyway but the incident was between two real sisters. One of the other SFHs has gotten into the habit of being very pecky towards Mama-Me and I have pecked her back but not too mean or anything but I have. But the other day she nailed me bad when I was giving them some kind of treat by hand. Well the lead pullet Poppie saw my reaction of true pain and she got ahold of her sister Verbena’s head and held onto it not in a nice way and rode it to the ground and held her down for several seconds before letting her up. Needless to say Verbena was treatless for that day for lots of reasons and she hasn’t bitten or pecked me like that since. Now if I just get her to discipline the big greedy Black: Lavender Orpingtons we would be in tip top shape! Lol! But also noting that my girl Poppie has not been in good form the last two days. I don’t know if the severe heat has gotten to her or what? I don’t know if they had a round when I didn’t see them or if she got hurt outside when it was lightning? They don’t free range but they do have a huge coop and run for nine birds with a metal roof and hardware cloth sides and we have had some terrible lightning storms lately which is because of the excessive heat indices averaging 105-110! Through July and August and Hurricane Laura moving through also after Tropical storm Marco. It has been rough in MS but I am not complaining compared to Louisiana and Texas or other places with real impacts. However my “lead pullet” baby is just not herself. She is laying around in the cool dirt and not eating enough to suit me. She is drinking and does move around some and I can’t see an injury she feels okay but she is off. It worries me dog gone it. ?????

 

[BarredRockMotherHen]

Ok٫ long story short here.. about a year or so ago.. a hen appeared in my yard .. wouldn't leave٫so now she's mine .. Named her Lucy. About 2 months ago I got her a friend.. another Rhode Island Red.. named her Ethel.. They get along great .. but..the last couple of days when I reach down and pat Ethel٫Lucy attacks her and jumps on her when I put her down .. Is she jealous csuse now another hen is getting attention? Lucy has always acted more like a dog then a chicken..but I have never seen her act this way before.. Any ideas??

I’m also new to raising chickens and I have noticed what I think might be jealousy amongst my hens. But what do I know... I’m new at this.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

I’m also new to raising chickens and I have noticed what I think might be jealousy amongst my hens. But what do I know... I’m new at this.

All we can do is our best. Come here. Read, research, ask questions, pray, be receptive, open to constructive criticism when it applies, and go with our gut and Mothering instincts when we know we are right about the care of or conditions of our bird or animals. It’s our best and that is all we can do and what we always should do for our pets and stock.

 

[New Hen Mama]

I have had an exact situation among my sweetest ever Swedish Flower Hens who are sisters. The lead pullet as I call her because she is just 16 weeks as my entire flock of nine are and all are just three breeds of three each so they all act as sisters anyway but the incident was between two real sisters. One of the other SFHs has gotten into the habit of being very pecky towards Mama-Me and I have pecked her back but not too mean or anything but I have. But the other day she nailed me bad when I was giving them some kind of treat by hand. Well the lead pullet Poppie saw my reaction of true pain and she got ahold of her sister Verbena’s head and held onto it not in a nice way and rode it to the ground and held her down for several seconds before letting her up. Needless to say Verbena was treatless for that day for lots of reasons and she hasn’t bitten or pecked me like that since. Now if I just get her to discipline the big greedy Black: Lavender Orpingtons we would be in tip top shape! Lol! But also noting that my girl Poppie has not been in good form the last two days. I don’t know if the severe heat has gotten to her or what? I don’t know if they had a round when I didn’t see them or if she got hurt outside when it was lightning? They don’t free range but they do have a huge coop and run for nine birds with a metal roof and hardware cloth sides and we have had some terrible lightning storms lately which is because of the excessive heat indices averaging 105-110! Through July and August and Hurricane Laura moving through also after Tropical storm Marco. It has been rough in MS but I am not complaining compared to Louisiana and Texas or other places with real impacts. However my “lead pullet” baby is just not herself. She is laying around in the cool dirt and not eating enough to suit me. She is drinking and does move around some and I can’t see an injury she feels okay but she is off. It worries me dog gone it. ?????

 

[New Hen Mama]

No treats were involved.. She only attacks her when I go to pet her or pick her up. When I am holding Ethel, Lucy looks like she is gonna jump on me to get Ethel.. I point my finger and tell her “no” lol.. When I go to put Ethel down, I have to do so,away from Lucy.. cause Lucy gets all “puffed” like a monster chicken.. lol.. my husband says Lucy will just have to get over it.. It just amazes me how chickens can act.Lucy acts more like a dog then a chicken.Who knew chickens can get jealous.. not this girl, that’s for sure!! Lol

 

[Dguswalker]

I'm having the same problem right now. My oldest girl, harriet, has been laying for about 2 weeks now, my next one down, Amelia, has started to submit to me petting her and I think she's about to lay. The last couple days, any time I pet Amelia, harriet pulls out her neck feathers and gets really upset. I dont want amelia to start running from me or start feeling scared and getting egg bound.