Hi all! I am a chicken newbie and could use some advice from those with more experience.
I have five 6 month old buff Orpington hens that have been together since they were a week old. I didn't see much aggressive pecking order behavior until about a month or two ago when they really started going at each other. It's calmed down a little bit, but they seem to still be figuring out/asserting their order. Sometimes, the lowest chicken, Honey, seems to get pecked or chased away by the others for no reason that is obvious to me.
I have a cam in their coop and over the past month there are several times that I've seen Honey getting pecked by the others at night as they settle in. The hens switch their spots each night and it's hard to tell which spots are the most desired. Sometimes she goes to the end by the wall, a spot that is usually empty and sleeps there fine. One time I saw her getting pecked until she got in the middle of the flock and the hen pecking her could be on the other side of her (but not close to the wall where Honey was). Tonight Honey got pecked until she hopped off the perch and the chicken pecking her could have the spot by the wall. (This spot is usually unoccupied unless Honey is there, and the hen who took her spot has never slept there before.) Their behavior confuses me and I would like to reduce the amount of pecking that Honey has to endure. She is not the only one getting pecked, but she is definitely more skittish than the rest, and spends more time on her own. Thankfully none of them have been seriously injured.
I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to add another perch in the coop so that Honey has more options of where to sleep or not. I'm not sure if this would cause more problems with the others (if she ends up sleeping alone all the time) or if it would calm some of the nighttime aggression? Is sleeping together a bonding thing that is worth a few pecks or does it not matter?
Your thoughts are appreciated! Thank you
I have five 6 month old buff Orpington hens that have been together since they were a week old. I didn't see much aggressive pecking order behavior until about a month or two ago when they really started going at each other. It's calmed down a little bit, but they seem to still be figuring out/asserting their order. Sometimes, the lowest chicken, Honey, seems to get pecked or chased away by the others for no reason that is obvious to me.
I have a cam in their coop and over the past month there are several times that I've seen Honey getting pecked by the others at night as they settle in. The hens switch their spots each night and it's hard to tell which spots are the most desired. Sometimes she goes to the end by the wall, a spot that is usually empty and sleeps there fine. One time I saw her getting pecked until she got in the middle of the flock and the hen pecking her could be on the other side of her (but not close to the wall where Honey was). Tonight Honey got pecked until she hopped off the perch and the chicken pecking her could have the spot by the wall. (This spot is usually unoccupied unless Honey is there, and the hen who took her spot has never slept there before.) Their behavior confuses me and I would like to reduce the amount of pecking that Honey has to endure. She is not the only one getting pecked, but she is definitely more skittish than the rest, and spends more time on her own. Thankfully none of them have been seriously injured.
I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to add another perch in the coop so that Honey has more options of where to sleep or not. I'm not sure if this would cause more problems with the others (if she ends up sleeping alone all the time) or if it would calm some of the nighttime aggression? Is sleeping together a bonding thing that is worth a few pecks or does it not matter?
Your thoughts are appreciated! Thank you
So we just let it be.
