How intense is your pecking order?

[thecatumbrella]

Our 1 D'uccle we had has almost completely ruined the breed for me.

I need to hear more about this bird. My d'Uccle is... unique. That's for sure.

One of my six cochins is a saint. She's exactly how I would expect the breed to be; no drama, easy to handle, very relaxed. Two suffered neurological damage at hatch, and both could be described as nervous and flighty. The last two act like they're on cocaine. Very in-your-face friendly, but the dial's turned up to 11. I mean, the one in my profile pic latched onto my finger like a dog as I was removing her from the shipping box.

 

[ValkerieGunn]

So our D'uccle was named Tiny. Original I know. He was one of our original flock from 2 years ago. Well we had a mix of bantams and regular birds. Tiny was the only bantam to make it to adulthood. 1 was failure to thrive I believe, 1 had pasty butt bad and as a novice i don't think I was quick enough, and the last was the only bird I have ever lost to a predator. So fast forward 2 years and he has slight small man syndrome. Not horrible but not great. Then this past spring as I was reaching into the nest box he jumped in and attacked. He got my sleeve and just clamped on. I literally shook my arm and he held on so tight it reminded me of a dog with a chew toy. But then afterwards he calmed down and we continued on with no issues for months. Then last month he started going for my ankles but as small as he was I honestly didn't always notice until the dog would get excited trying to get him to play with her. Then about 3 weeks ago I was out tending the garden and my daughter was bringing me the basket because I had forgotten it and she started screaming from around the corner of the shop and I go running. He would not leave her be even when I showed up, he completely ignored both my husband and I until we sent him flying. So he met his end after that incident and now my daughter is extremely nervous around our whole flock. Now thankfully she wasn't hurt at all just scared but since she was wearing my boots that day she has stolen them as a good luck charm and is slowly working out her fears.

 

[BDutch]

Also, what kind of bantams do you have? I stuck with pekin/cochins because that's the breed everyone seemed to love, but I'm always interested to hear what other people are having success with!

I have 4 Dutch, 1 bantam mix, 1 bantam RIR, 2 bantam Amrock (the European barred rock). None of them with genes for show quality. Had a few others breeds like bantam Sulmtaler and Naine du Tournaisis.

They get and got along well except for the combination juveniles & roost time. An extra coop did wonders to avoid trouble.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I have 4 Dutch, 1 bantam mix, 1 bantam RIR, 2 bantam Amrock (the European barred rock). None of them with genes for show quality. Had a few others breeds like bantam Sulmtaler and Naine du Tournaisis.

They get and got along well except for the combination juveniles & roost time. An extra coop did wonders to avoid trouble.

I like how I could have just read this in your signature. Whoops.
Really unique mix and I can appreciate the lack of feathered-feet. Certainly makes care a lot easier.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Our hens hate each other. They rip each others' feathers out and always look awful and scraggly. The girl at the bottom couldn't get any food so she had to go into a pen by herself. She cries all the time and wants to roost with the others at night but they want to bite her face off. The alpha has bitten me four times. They're separated into three groups which is three times the work and exhausting. If I had known it was going to be like this I would never have gotten them.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I have 4 Dutch, 1 bantam mix, 1 bantam RIR, 2 bantam Amrock (the European barred rock). None of them with genes for show quality. Had a few others breeds like bantam Sulmtaler and Naine du Tournaisis.

They get and got along well except for the combination juveniles & roost time. An extra coop did wonders to avoid trouble.

Same here - no discernible pecking order among the original three. We’re integrating the two youngers now, and so far little drama, although I’m expecting some, at least until they start laying.

 

[BDutch]

I like how I could have just read this in your signature. Whoops.
Really unique mix and I can appreciate the lack of feathered-feet. Certainly makes care a lot easier.

There are a few go’s and no go’s in choosing new breeds (hatchery eggs) for my existing flock:
must haves: bantam under 1 kg, known for their friendly character, reasonable amount of eggs, good looking hens.
Not haves: known for nest sleeping, health problems, aggression, problematic feathered feet.
I started with Dutch and the flock evolved. Some didn’t survive. Others did. I introduced new breeds (eggs) for a broody and eventually got this unique mix.

 

[BDutch]

Our hens hate each other. They rip each others' feathers out and always look awful and scraggly. The girl at the bottom couldn't get any food so she had to go into a pen by herself. She cries all the time and wants to roost with the others at night but they want to bite her face off. The alpha has bitten me four times. They're separated into three groups which is three times the work and exhausting. If I had known it was going to be like this I would never have gotten them.

Oooh.

Most of the time it helps a lot if you add;
- More indoor space and roosts: add an extra coop or make an extension to the existing coop
- More outdoor space; double the run size (each bird at least 4m2, 10m2 is even better) or let them free range.
- More places to hide (clutter, bushes).
- More feed and water stations.
- Make an auto pop door to the run so the chickens are never locked in after sunrise.

Or: Sell a few hens;
- The ones that don’t fit in behaviour.
- Sell all but one breed that is most easy going.

These are general tips. If you describe what you have know, and give lots of info about the flock and their behaviour, there might be people (educators) that can help better. Best start a new thread for it.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Our hens hate each other. They rip each others' feathers out and always look awful and scraggly. The girl at the bottom couldn't get any food so she had to go into a pen by herself. She cries all the time and wants to roost with the others at night but they want to bite her face off. The alpha has bitten me four times. They're separated into three groups which is three times the work and exhausting. If I had known it was going to be like this I would never have gotten them.

Thank you for sharing this. I’ve been feeling very, very alone. I knew chickens would be hard work, but they were also meant to bring some joy for my mental health. The last 18 weeks with them have been miserable. I hope we can both find a way through this.