newbie

[quackandclucks]

Hi all,

Have checked in on this forum previously but just now joining. Have 4 hens and 3 ducks. My hens are Rhode Island red crosses and the ducks are a pekin drake and 2 cayuga hens.
The pekin drake and a 2nd drake whom we recently lost were both riased with the chicken hens. The cayugas came later since the drakes were terrorizing the hens. Anyway my chickens are picking on one another, one has always stayed in the barn with her horse which started as a result of the missing drake being "drakey" with her in particular. Since he has been gone the 4 hens stay together during the day and "blackneck" stays with her horse at night. The other 3 stayed in the hen house together, recently the 2 double reds are picking on "Blondie" and she stayed in the hen house all day today. These are all free range fowl and are penned at night in separate houses/pens. The hens can leave thier house at anytime but the ducks are penned at night. So why are they picking on her? please fell free to ask any questions neccessary to help me settle this dispute with them. Is she sick?


Just another crazy chicken Mom......

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC. There are a few things that could be going on....overcrowding in the chicken house can cause picking if there isnt enough space for them. The picked on hen could possibly have a health issue and the others will pick on her. I recommend you thoroughly inspect the picked on hen for injuries, abnormalities...such as missing feathers, cuts, scrapes etc... Check her for lice/mites while you're at it. But what I highly suspect is they are trying to establish the pecking order. Guess who's going to be on the bottom of the pecking order? Yup, the one that is getting picked on. They will eventually work it out in time. Good luck.

 

[Desert Rooster]

Hello

from Hesperia, Ca and

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. So glad you joined. I have to agree with dawg53.

 

[quackandclucks]

Thanks, I thought it was something like that, it could be the space issue too, thier house was a quick setup since they started roosting on a set of old windows leaned up against the hay shed instead of using the house I had biult for them, so rather then move them I built a coop so to speak around them since the winter months were closing in on us and I had found them roosting out in the pouring rain in august and the tarp tent I erected wasn't going to suffice. They have approx 5 ft of roost and the biulding itself is not very big but it was all I could do with the weather changing over. So I'm thinking a new coop is in order this spring. Why would they just start this its just the 3 of them in there and its only for roosting they lay in 3spots throughout the barn and hay shed and not always in the same hen in the same nest..they do a musical nest thing...at least now we are finding them regularly. I did check here this evening and she seems fine they are all missing feathers on thier necks from the drake....

 

[Ema]

 

[ghillie]

 

[Wild Trapper]

Welcome to BYC forum from a Ohio addict

 

[I'm a chicken mama]

Welcome I just joined tonight as well!

 

[Cacciatore]

Welcome from Northern California.