Pecking order: Fair or Cruel?

[Rhodeislandsilkie]

Hi, today I’ve noticed that my hens are all pecking my smallest Easter egger. She’s only a week younger. They peck her whenever she tries taking more food or does something that they don’t like. For instance, one time I was counting he chickens and I couldn’t find her. I found that she was roosting on a tree. Som I put her inside the coop and every single hen pecked her. I think she’s at the bottom of the order. Is there anything I could do to help her? Or should she just continue being pecked?
This is her:

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh and the pecking order isn't about cruelty, it's about survival of the fittest. The smaller the territory the less birds can be supported by it so stronger members will try to drive out or kill weaker members, so it's always best to give them plenty of room so they don't feel the need to follow that instinct.

Otherwise sometimes when they are targeting a certain bird its because there's something wrong or off with it. So they try to remove it from the flock.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Size of the bird doesn't dictate its place. One of my largest pullets is the absolute bottom of the pecking order. She has to eat last, roost on a lower rung, and while she's allowed in the fringes of the group, she'll get chased if she gets in the middle of the others. But the pecking has never gotten too bad - no blood drawn and no injuries other than a feather or two being pulled out. It might seem cruel, but it's natural for them, and as far as she's concerned, she's still part of the group.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How big is your set up? How many birds? You will see more aggression as housing becomes tight. Do you provide multiple feeding stations and places for her to hide?

 

[Shadrach]

Hi, today I’ve noticed that my hens are all pecking my smallest Easter egger. She’s only a week younger. They peck her whenever she tries taking more food or does something that they don’t like. For instance, one time I was counting he chickens and I couldn’t find her. I found that she was roosting on a tree. Som I put her inside the coop and every single hen pecked her. I think she’s at the bottom of the order. Is there anything I could do to help her? Or should she just continue being pecked?
This is her:

Seriously, don’t go for all that survival of the fittest nonsense. If you actually read Charles Darwin’s books you will come to understand that the fittest has a particular meaning and has little to do with aggression, size, or many of the other qualities so often ascribed to creatures.
Often the fittest is the abnormal, the freak in evolutionary terms.
When for example a deadly virus effects a species it’s not the ‘fittest’ as the human concept would have that survives, its the freak, the one that has for whatever reason some resistance to the virus, or manages to avoid catching it. It’s often the ability to rapidly mutate, to be different from the ‘normal’ that is successful in evolutionary terms. This is why certain viruses cause humans and other creatures such problems; they can mutate faster than we can find ways of killing them.

There are many reason why a particular hen may get picked on by the ‘group’. Aggressive behavior can be instigated by one particular hen and then copied by the others; just like with humans. With the chickens here, age is often the determining factor in the pecking order and often it is the second lowest in the pecking order that is the most aggressive towards the next most junior and interestingly with hens, hens from other groups.
Personality can play a role. Some chickens seem just to not like each other and depending on where the disliker is in the order, this may cause others to follow her lead.
There is often a desire to be in a group, you can see that on this forum. The group members defend the others in their group against outside influences in order to maintain the status quo. However, some creatures can be more solitary and more independent and this can cause the ‘group’ to attack the one that demonstrates unusual behavior.

The important thing for you as the controller of these chickens environment is to make sure the oddball has sufficient space to escape the group behavior and to ensure she gets equal access to food and water and comfort. You will not be able to easily stop the group behavior and perhaps as I’ve seen here, there will come a time when the oddball turns and beats the **** out of one of the group and the whole flock dynamics will change.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Size of the bird doesn't dictate its place. One of my largest pullets is the absolute bottom of the pecking order. She has to eat last, roost on a lower rung, and while she's allowed in the fringes of the group, she'll get chased if she gets in the middle of the others. But the pecking has never gotten too bad - no blood drawn and no injuries other than a feather or two being pulled out. It might seem cruel, but it's natural for them, and as far as she's concerned, she's still part of the group.

Sounds just like my family. If you aren't being picked on you aren't a part of the group.

 

[Compost King]

Do you mean 6 by 7 feet for the coop or 6 by 7 feet for their total run area? for a Coop thats enough space for 10 birds, for a run thats enough space for 4 birds. Even that is maxing it out and some breeds need more than the general rule of thumb which is 4 sq feet per bird inside, 10 sq feet per bird outside. I sometimes over crowd them in a coop without a problem provided they have plenty of outside space and space under the coop to stay dry without being stuck inside. When you are mixing flocks or introducing new birds you need multiple spots for a bird to hide without getting cornered or trapped.

 

[ShrekDawg]

They’re pecking at her head. I realized also that they only mostly peck at her when they are eating something like an apple or pear. So, it might be that she is in their way. It’s nothing serious. They will occasionally peck her randomly but mostly when they are eating a treat. They still tolerate and accept her. Thanks for the help!

That's nothing.....they're just 'talking'.

X2. Some of mine do this to lower ranking members all the time. My Australorps and Barred Rock are the highest ranking and want all the good treats to themselves so they will peck the Buff Orpingtons and Easter Eggers away. Usually one of the Easter Eggers is allowed but the lower one isn't. And even the other one is not always allowed. Sometimes even the Barred Rock will get pecked and chased away if it's a particularly good treat or the BAs are feeling particularly ornery! Lol what I do to solve this problem and make sure everybody is able to get the treats is I will simply spread it in multiple areas of the run or yard so they can all be eating at once or in different sections. For example, I used to just dump all the treats in one spot, like in the middle of the run, but then I noticed others getting chased away so I started putting some on one end of the run, some on the other far end, some in the middle or corners/outskirts, etc. That way, they kind of naturally separate and the top hens can be in one area while the lower ranking hens are in another area and everyone seems happy that way. But if they do happen to get chased or the top hens get bored, they usually just switch ends and/or there's so many treats all around, the lower hens can still find some scattered around. This seems to help. You might try it as well as multiple food and water bowls. Of course, some people don't mind the pecking order, it is natural after all, but I always feel bad when mine aren't allowed to have the treats and I have particularly greedy/mean top hens so I prefer to just spread the treats around to minimize it and be sure everyone gets some and it doesn't take any extra time or anything. You might try that and see if it helps.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You said you introduced this single bird? Did the rest already know each other?

 

[bobbi-j]

The set up is pretty spacious for them. I have 8 hens. So, it’s not that many hens. I do have bushes that she sunbathes behind and little bowls of food around the yard.

"Pretty spacious" can mean different things to different people. How big in feet x feet is your coop? And your run?