SusanD
Chirping
Hi,
I had a question about the pecking order/social dynamics with my three hens. My Welsummer hen (Big) is a sweetheart. She is a week older than they other two, so was bigger than them for a while. They both like her. My Langshan (Blackie) is the tamest. She is the only one that will let me hold her. My RIR (Red) tends to be the feisty one (she's also our best layer so far).
I noticed that Big and Red tend to roost as close as they can, while Blackie sleeps about 6 inches away from them. I have also seen Blackie and Red have face offs before (hackles up, staring at each other). I saw Red peck Blackie twice tonight once before going up to roost and once afterwards. I gave her a mock peck to try to tell her to stop, but had second thoughts as I didn't think that would be effective in getting the message across (and I don't want Red to be afraid of me, or to think that I'm trying to insert myself into the pecking order).
Should I let them sort things out themselves or try to intervene? If so, is there an intervention that would be effective? Blackie does seem like she can stand up for herself, and so I'm not too worried about her yet.
I had a question about the pecking order/social dynamics with my three hens. My Welsummer hen (Big) is a sweetheart. She is a week older than they other two, so was bigger than them for a while. They both like her. My Langshan (Blackie) is the tamest. She is the only one that will let me hold her. My RIR (Red) tends to be the feisty one (she's also our best layer so far).
I noticed that Big and Red tend to roost as close as they can, while Blackie sleeps about 6 inches away from them. I have also seen Blackie and Red have face offs before (hackles up, staring at each other). I saw Red peck Blackie twice tonight once before going up to roost and once afterwards. I gave her a mock peck to try to tell her to stop, but had second thoughts as I didn't think that would be effective in getting the message across (and I don't want Red to be afraid of me, or to think that I'm trying to insert myself into the pecking order).
Should I let them sort things out themselves or try to intervene? If so, is there an intervention that would be effective? Blackie does seem like she can stand up for herself, and so I'm not too worried about her yet.
