What is acceptable behavior for pecking order?

[Missminashouse]

Hi!
We've had our small mixed flock (one Buff Brahma, one New Hampshire Red, one Cinnamon Queen, and two Barred Rocks) for about a year now, and I thought the pecking order was settled, but now one of the chickens I thought was lower in the order is becoming quite aggressive to one I thought was higher . . . This is one of the BRs (Gilda) to the NH Red (Katie Scarlett). A while ago the other BR (Bertha) was picking on the Cinnamon Queen - she would chase her away from the food, peck her, and once even pulled a feather out accidentally. But now Gilda is showing similar behavior to Katie Scarlett, except she's biting down and holding until Katie squeals. Poor Katie Scarlett now has bruises on her face! I've only seen Gilda do this when they eat . . . Gilda is quite bigger than Katie, but Katie's got a lot of spunk and I've been pretty sure she's second-in-command in the flock (at least since we re-housed our rooster at the beginning of last summer). So, I have three questions:
One, is that level of picking acceptable? There's been no feather picking, but Katie is bruised . . .
Two, can pecking order change like that?
Three, what, if anything, should I do about it?
Thanks!

 

[GoosesGeeses]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Yardmom]

From your description it sounds like your birds are pushing the limit on behavior. What is your setup like (coop, run, free range)? How are their feeder(s) and waterer set up. Do they have places to get out of sight lines from each other?

 

[Mrs. K]

Pecking order is very fluid. It does change. Almost always it is about space and how the space is set up. What is too much, depends on you. Personally, I don’t like it, but some people can tolerate a lot.

While it is not 100%, space and how it is set up can make a difference. A lot of runs do not make use of the vertical space, and the floor of the run is wide open so that all the birds can see all of the birds 100% of the time. Adding clutter can really help.

Add pallets, leaned up against a wall, standing straight up attached to fence posts making a mini wall, add roosts. These all allow birds to get away from each other, which can really help.

Add multiple feed bowls, tucked out of sight, so that a bird eating at one station can’t be seen by another at a second one. Hungry birds can get weak which will dramatically shift the pecking order.

However, once in a while you have an aggressive bird. Pin less peepers can really help with that in small set ups.

The last option is to reduce your flock. Fighting destroys the pleasure of having birds for me. There are several reasons this might be a very good choice. If I read your post right, all your birds are the same age which means they will all get old at the same time.

A better flock is some chicks, some a year old, some 2+years old. This keeps your flock from being stagnant, better health as younger birds are healthier.

Selling a laying hen is pretty easy to do, which makes room for chicks. Sometimes people start flocks with the idea of forever friends. However that is rather unrealistically assuming that the birds themselves will be forever friends and often that is not so. I would rather send a bird to another flock, where with more space she relaxes.

Post some pictures. Maybe we can see something.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

Two, can pecking order change like that?

Absolutely. Sometimes one decided to challenge another to come up in the pecking order. That can happen at any time but spring seems to bring out certain behaviors. You often notice it more with the boys but it affects the girls also. Another cause would be where a top chicken becomes sick, injured, or weak. Another chicken sees that as an opportunity to move up. If one is defeated in one of these fights it can damage her moral. Another chicken sees the opportunity to move up. Chicken society can be cruel and heartless.

One, is that level of picking acceptable? There's been no feather picking, but Katie is bruised . . .

Feather picking would be the least of my worries. Sometimes the deposed chicken accepts its reduced spot in the pecking order, sometimes not. Sometimes the winners totally isolate the hen from the flock if they don't try to kill it.

I can't tell if what is going on is acceptable or not from this distance. I'd have to be there to look at it to make that judgment. If the hen is not being injured (do you see blood) I'd wait. If one corners her and starts trying to peck the head as if she is trying to peck through to the brain then they are trying to kill her.

Three, what, if anything, should I do about it?

This is the hard one, isn't it. If the hen is not being hurt I'd give them some time. They may sort it out. If she is being hurt you can isolate her behind wire for a while to protect her and try to go through an integration. Let them see each other for a week or two before you let them mingle. Or you can decide whether you want to keep this hen or the ones trying to kill her.

Good luck!