pecking order

[kristeemorris]

Just bought two new hens last night. My original two hens are accepting of one but picking on the other?
I used the "sneak them into the coop in the middle of the night method".
Any idea why just the one?

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Is she a lot smaller than the other hens? Were there any cuts on the chicken before adding her? You may have to put her in a crate for a little while so the others can get used to her.

 

[foreverlearning]

Give them a few days, the pecking order takes a little bit to figure out. If your hens are laying and the new one is not that age yet it could go on until the new one lays. Next time you buy more I suggest that you keep them separate for 2-4 weeks so that you do not infect your entire flock if the new ones have any problems. Because you did introduce without separation, I suggest you do preventive measures for the most common problems. Poultry dust or Sevin for lice, oil on legs for leg mites, and either a wormer or garlic in their feed for worms. This is just in case the new girls had any problems. There are much worse problems that they could bring to your flock that no preventive measure except isolation from your flock will prevent. Watch all your girls closely for the next month because if anything new came in it would most likely present in this time.

 

[kristeemorris]

She is a lot smaller. Maybe that's it!
However it is raining now and she decided no matter how cranky the other girls are she is not standing out in the rain and went into the coop. They all stayed in there with only minor complaining and no fights or pecking. They finally must have gone to bed cuz all is quiet now. Maybe tomorrow everyone will be happy.