Roosting Issues!?

[zerowland10]

I have 6 chickens who are 10 weeks old. Ivy (the Easter Egger) seems to be the head hen... she eats first, drinks first, goes outside first, etc., and the others just follow her lead. They have always squabbled at roosting time but recently it’s gotten a lot worse. Each one wants a spot on the roost nearest the wall, which is nothing new. They squabble and push and shove and finally give up and go to sleep. Betsy, my buff Orpington, is the biggest of the bunch and somewhere in the middle of the pecking order. For a couple nights now, she has tried to settle in multiple spots where the roosts attach to the walls. And Ivy literally follows her around and shoves her way into the spot Betsy is in. So, Betsy will go to a different wall spot and Ivy will follow her and do the same thing all over again, shoving herself up underneath Betsy and trying to squeeze into the spot. At one point Betsy fell to the floor of the coop because Ivy shoved her so forcefully and wouldn’t let up. At that point I waited for Ivy to get settled then I put Betsy in a different spot and she stayed put.

Is this bullying behavior normal? I know the good roosting spots will always cause some drama, but this seems excessive and I have no idea why it’s happening?

Also, it’s pretty warm outside but these chickens insist of roosting as close to one another as possible. They have 2 long roosts, each 3.5 feet long, but take up just one very small section.

Someone please help me understand what’s happening and if I need to do something about it!

 

[Jenessa_09]

This happens every night all the time, have you integrated new birds recently? Is this a new coop? Because I just added two chickens into my coop. One of my chickens even tried to sleep outside one night. Sometimes I see chickens sleeping on the floor. So yeah.

 

[zerowland10]

This happens every night all the time, have you integrated new birds recently? Is this a new coop? Because I just added two chickens into my coop. One of my chickens even tried to sleep outside one night. Sometimes I see chickens sleeping on the floor. So yeah.

Nope, not a new coop and no new birds! It’s just like she’s suddenly picking on one in particular to the point she could fall and get hurt. And that’s all new behavior.

 

[Yardmom]

How much space do they have? If there is enough space they will work it out. It may be a dominance issue as they are still young.

 

[zerowland10]

How much space do they have? If there is enough space they will work it out. It may be a dominance issue as they are still young.

Ok thanks! Yes, they have enough space. I was hoping it was normal I just feel really bad for the one getting pushed around.

 

[neo71665]

Sounds like a pecking order change up and they figuring it out.