Smallest Pullet Bullied by Largest Pullet

[jlebows]

So I have 6 pullets, all 16 weeks old, together their whole life. They are all starting to really establish pecking order but it’s mostly harmless chest bumping. However, the largest is starting to bully the smallest bird whenever their are treats. She doesn’t bully anyone else. The smallest Bird is a black Australorp but really small for her breed, just a small bird I guess, seems healthy. It only happens when treats are involved. The small bird is usually able to get some but will get chased by the large bird with increasing frequency. The small bird does get to eat and drink. Anything I should watch out for or do? Also wondered if som how I misidentified the breed of each as she is a lot smaller than the other black Austrolorp. I thought the biggest was the Saphire Rock I got as she looked different from the other two (austrolorps) I got.

 

[Mrs. K]

What I am imagining, might not be true, so bear with me. But is your run, a wide open area, where as, every single bird can see every other bird all of the time. If so, that can cause problems. It is not the pecking order that causes problems, it is when there is no way to give way that causes the problems.

I call it bowing to the queen. Whenever two birds meet, or come together, one bird is above and the other is below, the lower bird acknowledges their place by stepping back, by giving way, by getting out of sight. Now one of the funniest things, is once they do that, I have seen them just a few moments later right back beside the queen, no problem.

The problem arises when there is no other place to go, a bird may move off, but to the queen, they do not disappear, and that is a challenge to her spot, so she aggressively asks again, with a little more violence, a little rougher proving her point. This can get dangerous, because through no fault of the lower bird, there just isn't anyway to bow and get out of sight.

If you add a bunch of clutter to the run, boxes, saw horses, ladders, chairs, roosts, little mini walls, pallets, platforms they all allow birds to get away from each other, to take a time out. While the run will look more crowded, it will actually add more useable space, as it makes use of the vertical space. It will also allow you to easily set up feed stations so that while a bird is eating at one station, she cannot see a bird eating at another.

Being raised together has little to no influence on chickens.

Mrs K

 

[jlebows]

Thanks I should do that. It’s a decent sized run, I think about 12x10, it’s pretty much a big square. I’ll add some things. So far it only happens when treats are given, haven’t seen her chase the small bird at all the rest of the time. And they seem get along fine otherwise.