The pecking order

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Hi, I'm from the Kapiti coast in New Zealand and I love this forum. :P I've just integrated two 3 month old aracauna bantams and a rooster (getting him re homed hopefully) with my established flock of 8 pekins. I read on here how to separate new ones in the run, so I screened off a third of the run with wire and gave them separate food and water and let them all get used to each other with out the physical fighting. All they could do was stab at each other with beaks through the wire. :D At night I put them inside the chook house together (too hard to fight when sleepy) and separated them in the mornings again. The older ones didn't like the rooster, and there was a bit of fighting but no blood drawn. With the pecking order until it is established, the older ones won't let the new ones feed or drink, they get chased away all the time. My pekins are little demons when it comes to that - but this morning I discovered the young ones eating pellets out of the feeder no worries, so it looks like they have been accepted. It has taken one week! Only trouble is that the younsters have always drunk out of a green water container and refuse to use the main one which is black, so I will have to keep two water systems going for a while. But all good! :P
 
I was reading that and waiting for the 'so here's my problem...' bit - but it didn't come! :lol:

Well done, sounds pretty much text book. A week is about right but sometimes it can take much longer. Integrating different age groups is the hardest because the youngsters can get bullied easily. I think keeping more than one water container is a good idea for now - eventually I think they will get the idea though.

I'm also glad you like the forum. Thank you for joining us, it's good to know it's been a help to you and lovely to hear of your success.

Tim
 
This 'pecking order' is difficult to get used to. There's only a month age gap between my 2 groups, with me collecting the first group only 4 days before the others but one poor little thing from the younger group (I think she would have been the runt of the litter in the dog world) is mercillesly picked on by a couple of the others & 1 big girl in particular. She won't let her anywhere near anything interesting & poor little 'scruffy' runs away if the big one even glances in her direction, this big one even chases her for no reason. But Scruffy's getting quite sly now & has learnt how to get things by biding her time or grabs things when the others aren't looking, its quite funny to watch.
I read on here somewhere about having more than one food & drink so I have done this & she's doing OK so I'm not worrying.
 
Both success stories then :D .Unfortunately there is always going to be one in a flock who is the lowest, having extra food/water containers help to ensure all get enough.I've been keeping a close eye on my four.I've got one who likes to peck the others,but as she doesn't draw blood and all are eating and drinking it isn't a problem (yet Tim lol). It is this one who twice I've seen chasing my smallest terrier up the garden trying to peck her bottom,at the moment my little terrier can just outrun the hen.....give it another week and I don't think she'll be able to get away :o :lol: .
 
Hi Lucylou,

Yes, the 'pecking order' is quite cruel at times but as with many other animals like Lions, Wolves or pack animals, it seems to work. Natures natural selection to ensure the stongest / fitest survive and the species continies...

Young birds will get pecked more and - ideally - you shouldn't mix different age groups but we all do :roll:

Any chooks that don't know one another will still need to go through this process though, sometimes it's easy and they adjust quickly and occasionally a bird will have a terrible time and will never really fit in. You also have to be careful of the different breeds you put together.

I have a little bantam (just the one) in with 20 or so hens and although she gets a nasty peck sometimes from the big girls, she survives really well as she is so fast - dashing around picking off treats while the others are busy. I hardly see her unless she is running from A to B! She's very healthy and has all of her feathers so she's not getting picked on often. When she goes broody, she's fierce and no hen will go near her!

Lydia - you are right - I always have at least 2 food and 2 water containers in a run with a mixed flock. It's hard to keep an eye on every bird and I like to ensure they can all get food. This time of year I start removing the food at night as rats can be a problem.

At this time of year I also condense my flocks down to make it easier to manage over the winter so there's some upset from the new pullets / old birds and the boys do squabble a bit but after a week or so, they tolerate one another and in a few weeks from now we should have two manageable flocks: Chickens, Ducks and Guinea Fowl all in the same runs but having enough space to do their own thing.

Tim
 
Going off topic slightly here,but,what is the best way to deal with rats?
I do remove my girls water and food containers every night,at the moment there is no sign of rats,but,with winter coming they will move from the farm into the gardens.I don't want to put poison down,not fair on any bird of prey that catches a poisoned rat,humane traps are no use,there is no-where you can release rats where they are not going to be a problem for anyone else,which leaves killer traps.Is this what everyone else uses?
 
I've started a new thread for Rats here ;) :

http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=454
 
Tim, you mentioned about being careful mixing the different breeds together. Mine are very 'mixed up'!!

As the person I got them from got a selection of eggs not knowing what they were (she only had a vague idea of the likely breeds) the one being hen-pecked is a leghorn (by the looks, I think!!) & she is the only one. All the others are either Heinz 57's ( by same cockrel) then the Maran & a Campign (still don't know how to spell it)

Do you think this also sets her apart from the others which is why she might be picked on? But then the Maran & Cochin aren't.
 
If you have hens that are reared together and are all the same colour - eg black rock hybrids and then you put them into a run with say white hens and they have never seen a white hen before, the settling time can be far longer.

If you have hatched / reared them all together from the start Lucylou, they should all get on quite well although there will always be a pecking order and someone is always going to be at the bottom. Sounds like she could be there... Normally once established, a quick peck and a 'Brrrr' from the receiving bird as a kind of 'Ow, sorry' I'll move away sorts things out.

Putting cockerels together definately gets more interesting! But some can go together over the winter months if they have the right temperament. I have pairs of cockerels in my runs at the moment as I'm condensing everyone before the cold weather to make things a little easier to manage.

I guess it's just what they've been used to all of their lives. It's a bit like ducks and chickens - if you add ducks to a chook run, you'll see some very strange looks going on and a few very scared chooks running around. All of mine are used to seeing ducks nearby and if they mix don't bat an eye lid now.

Tim
 
Another question on this subject that someone might be able to help with please.

I've had my chicken family for about 7 weeks now. From day 1 there was one definate 'head girl' with another vying for the position. These 2 have a little head to head every morning but everything settles down after 10 mins or so. All the others seem to know their place & not many problems apart from the poor little one at the bottom of the pile getting picked on by several of the others. This is how its carried on most days.

But this week things seem to have escalated. Instead of things gradually calming down it seems to be the opposite. Does anyone have any advice? I never had this behaviour with the chooks I had before so unsure of the best way to handle it. :?

(P.S. They have 2 lots of food & water & plenty of space within an enclosed run)
 
How old are they Lucylou? I can't remember...

If they are still quite young and are turning into 'adults' as they get older the pecking order can change and if a hen now feels she in fact should be higher than she is in the order will challenge another one more in the hope to get higher up the order.

You see this a alot in young cockerels as they grow and 'bicker' as they get older. As they are different breeds, they will be maturing at different rates so one hen might be the boss for now but when another matures takes over.

They should all being well eventually find their place... Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Tim, looking at their behaviour you could be right because its the ones in the middle that seem to be having the odd scuffle.
 
I think Tim has got it spot on,remember being a teenager and all hormonal lucylou......as long as none of them are going round with a sharp knife screaming :( (like a woman with bad pmt :o ) I'm sure they will settle down again.
I er,was a dreadfull teenager that hated everyone and everything...........
 
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