Pullets Chesting

[SlyDog]

Hi
These 2 clowns, who I'm sure are girls, regularly run at each other and bump chests. No fighting, just a little jump and chest pump.
They were hatched same day, so same age and next buddies.
They are girls aren't they?

 

[Petra Pancake]

Two of my grown up laying hens also used to do that for a while, so it seems that it can be part of hens behavior.

 

[sassysarah]

My girls do that a lot.

 

[theoldchick]

The chest bump is a hen's way of seeing who is the boss of who. The real serious contenders will actually start kick boxing and comb/feather pulling.

 

[SlyDog]

Well they took it up a notch yesterday! Maggie, the smaller of the 2, pulled out a bunch of Lilly the sussex feathers out and they had a few kickboxing sessions. Lilly is so big I thought she'd be the dominant out of the two, but Maggie persistent. After licking her wounds, so to speak, the went straight back in and kept pecking Lilly on the back of the neck and continues to do so every time Lilly is near. The rest of the flock are relatively peaceful, it's so strange that these two youngsters are the only two fighting, and the smallest of the 2 is acting like Chuck Norris! No blood so far, so I'm not too worried.

 

[Petra Pancake]

Chuck Norris or Chick Norris? lol. In my experience quarrels like this usually fade out after a few weeks, once they have sorted out clearly who's the winner. As long as there are no serious injuries, I wouldn't worry too much either. Important though, that they've enough space for the "loser" to escape if she wants to. If it doesn't fizzle out or gets too brutal, maybe isolate the bully, Maggie, for a few days to get her back to her senses and down in the pecking order.