Need some advice on "pecking order"

[Onespirit03]

It is hard when you dont have a rooster, but I have tried caging my aggressive birds with some progress. The one's who were in the coop first are gonna act up. If is best to start off with the docile breeds then introduce the more aggressive breeds to the coop after the docile ones have made it their home for a few weeks or months. Good luck with your flock.

 

[Onespirit03]

Yes, they are said to be evolved from T-rex and it shows because they are great predators. They are on everything that moves. My chickens had a snake surrounded one day, and we all know how crazy roosters are. So chickens are far from being cowards. Just a little cautious at times.

 

[SDDiver5]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for your advice and opinions regarding this matter.!

I put the aggressive hens in "time out" a week ago. Yesterday I attempted to reintroduce the bad hens to the pen. I started with the hen that is less aggressive and that usually follows the lead of the more aggressive hen. Man oh man was it bad. The second I put the hen back in the coop she sprinted over the my poor black hen and full on attacked her, cornered her and pecked the crap out of her. I let it go for a maybe 30 seconds because I thought maybe it was reestablishing the pecking order but it didn't stop so I went in the coop and pulled the mean one back out and out her back in the time out pen. Then I tried the other hen and the same thing happened. So currently they are both in the time out pen again for at least another week, most likely a little longer.

I read somewhere that reintroducing a hen might be better at night so I will try that next time I attempt this.

There was ample amounts of food and water in the pen when I reintroduced them which I thought might help so I'm not sure if thats something to do or not to do?

One thing I noticed is that when I put them back in the pen, both times my nice black hen instantly freaked out and started making noise and tried to avoid the hens and was running around. Almost like a trauma victim reliving their trauma. Any advice on that?

I'm willing to try reintroducing them one more time. If not, I think I might get rid of some of them. I'm not sure which ones to get rid of...my mean hens are definitely the most reliable and consistent egg layers...but then again they are really mean and dominant and kind of annoying. The other nice hens are not as consistent egg layers and they are little wimps and don't fight back...but then again they are nice and honestly kinda cute. Another reason I am willing to try it one more time is because my backyard doesn't have that much space left and the time out coop is kind of in the way and inconvenient. Any advice on which ones to make soup out of and which ones to keep please let me know!

Again, thank you all for you help!!

 

[aart]

At least 2 weeks, 3 would be better.
Were they in sight of each other?

 

[SDDiver5]

They are only visible to each other if they try to be but are often not aware of it. There is one spot and if a mean hen is in a specific corner and a nice hen is in the far corner they will be able to see a little bit of each other. The can hear each other obviously. Problem is, like I said before, My yard is not that big so it's a little difficult to place the two coops far away and out of sight of eachother.

 

[spoikey]

If you know someone else with chickens you might want to try putting the mean ones with that flock for a time. That flock will already have a pecking order and they will be at the bottom. Might put them in line.

 

[Sukedana]

I was always told that a rooster in the mix with hens helps keep the girls in order. He calls the shots, keeps the girls from picking at each other.

 

[Betsy57]

I was always told that a rooster in the mix with hens helps keep the girls in order. He calls the shots, keeps the girls from picking at each other.

A good rooster will. It is fun to watch their interaction too. Mine warn the gals if something is flying over or other hazard, calls them to feed and breaks up the fights. Some are like they're in the o-zone and have no clue how to care for their harem.

 

[SDDiver5]

Ah I wish I could have a rooster! That would be pretty awesome! Where I live is very urban. Think square block beach community where everyone lives on top of eachother...literally. I happen to have a place with some space as a backyard so that's why I am able to have hens. People have already complained to me that they have been waken up early in the am from my birds doing their loud egg laying squawk so I'm not gonna push my luck...and the local laws state I cant have a rooster...

 

[eggsontoast]

I used "time out" for my Easter Egger yesterday. She was chasing the 10 week old pullets away from their food and water (she's 7 months old) and pecking my Silkie on the head. Even though I got them around the same time (the EE was added 2 days after the others), she's by far the biggest so she immediately deigned herself "Alpha Chicken", which is fine-- except I draw the line at hurting my sweet little Silkie. First she got a swat for jumping on the Silkie and pecking her, and then when she did it again, I let the Silkie and young pullets have the entire run and the EE was locked inside the coop/small run by herself to learn her lesson! This morning, she chased the little ones a bit, but didn't bother the Silkie.