Introduced a new hen - noise and pecking cause for worry?!

[alfiethetortoise]

I got two Speckeldy hens on Late Saturday afternoon. I added a brown hen today. She went in no bother, bit of pecking from the other two but they seemed to lay off after 10 mins as I sat and watched them. However the noise is awful! One hen persists on pecking the new hen whenever she walks by. There is no blood or anything major at the moment. The other two were not vocal at all before except a bit of a cluck in the morning. Soon it will be dark. Shall i take her out and put her in the roost in an hour, or leave them to fight it out?

 

[stormylady]

No if there not drawing blood, leave them alone to deal with the pecking order issues, their going to do that each time if you separate them but they will have to work it out all over again each time. BTW, did the chickens come from the same place? You should always quarenteen (sp) any new hens. I know that there all new but if they come from different places they could bring in different health problems to each other. Are they your only 3 hen/chickens that you have? And congrats on your new girls! Are your Speckledey hens Speckled Sussex?? That is the best breed ever!

em!!

Sandy

 

[alfiethetortoise]

No they didn't come from the same place! There is a little blood on the new hen and a few lost feathers. Would a peck spray help?

 

[stormylady]

I would take her out and clean her up, maybe use some blue coat or something like that because they will both go for her if they see the blood. But I'm pretty sure because it is mainly one hen pecking on her it is pecking order issues. What breeds do you have? Some are alot mellower than other and tend to be pecked on. Watch them closely for any signs of Illness for about a month and check for and treat for lice or fleas if they have any.

 

[stormylady]

I would put her back in with the other two after you have made sure she is alright and it was just a little peck and cleaned her up so no red shows. another thing I forgot to ask is are they roughly the same age/size? And do you have pictures (thats mostly cause I love seeing others birds)

 

[alfiethetortoise]

Ok, i cleaned her up and sprayed her with some spray that will (supposedly) reduce further pecking and has some anti back in it. The other hen seems to be leaving her alone. One of the other two is the main bully, but the other will have the odd peck! The Bullies are speckledy hens, and the victim a normal brown. The spckledys are younger but about the same size if not a little bigger. I have pictures, will try and load some on!

 

[alfiethetortoise]

These are the two speckledy

This is the red hen

 

[alfiethetortoise]

*update* the chicken that is being pecked is not going to roost with the other two chickens. Unsurprising, though the other two do look half asleep! Shall i just put her in and leave them to it?!