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I have 3 adult layers, all currently laying, one young bird (pullet?) who started to lay a couple of weeks ago, and her sister who's damaged and I'm not really expecting to lay at all. I also have 2 slightly younger birds who look ready to lay, and one in fact appears desperate and looks ready to pop!
The 2 youngest birds are definitely bottom of the hierarchy, and have always been chased and pecked a bit by the others. OK, I can accept that's normal behaviour even if I disapprove! However, for the last few days they've been trying to explore the various nest boxes, but have been mercilessly pounced on and pecked to pieces by the older birds every time they try to go into one. This morning all 3 of the older birds 'hogged' a nest box - not even boxes they normally use! - to prevent the younger one(s) getting inside. Can this sort of behaviour actually prevent a young bird from laying? If so, will that damage her? Or is it OK for a while?
At bedtime, the older birds have also started to pick on the 2 youngest ones again - I'm sure this is relatively recent, and can only assume it's linked to their becoming ready to lay? Things got so bad a week or two back that the youngsters refused to go into the coop at all, and would perch on the roof to try to roost there instead. I felt I had to intervene at that point and insist they went inside because it's too cold to roost outside, even under shelter, at the moment. I hadn't realised at that point that the older birds were pecking them inside the coop the moment they entered.. The 3 of them would space themselves out and attack the youngest ones as they went in through the door. We seem to have managed to get through that a bit now, although they're still being pecked at bedtime. Instead of sitting on the roof they now go in first while the others are eating, and then just dig in and let themselves get pecked... I hope I haven't made things impossible for them
.
The bird who's probably a few days closer to laying was treated differently yesterday though - she was pecked repeatedly on her head and back until she squatted and put her head down and went totally submissive. The other bird just got chased away from the coop. I'm seriously hoping this shows it's 'only' a matter of reinforcing the hierarchy, and it'll all settle down once laying commences and the Babes acknowledge their place in the Great Chicken Scheme of Things?
Am I best just keeping an eye on things and letting them work through their issues on their own, or should I be doing anything to intervene? Or does intervening just make things worse? At the moment I try to be there as they're putting themselves to bed just to make sure things don't get out of hand, but I'm not stopping any pecking that 'might' be considered 'normal'...
Need guidelines please!
Thanks.
I have 3 adult layers, all currently laying, one young bird (pullet?) who started to lay a couple of weeks ago, and her sister who's damaged and I'm not really expecting to lay at all. I also have 2 slightly younger birds who look ready to lay, and one in fact appears desperate and looks ready to pop!
The 2 youngest birds are definitely bottom of the hierarchy, and have always been chased and pecked a bit by the others. OK, I can accept that's normal behaviour even if I disapprove! However, for the last few days they've been trying to explore the various nest boxes, but have been mercilessly pounced on and pecked to pieces by the older birds every time they try to go into one. This morning all 3 of the older birds 'hogged' a nest box - not even boxes they normally use! - to prevent the younger one(s) getting inside. Can this sort of behaviour actually prevent a young bird from laying? If so, will that damage her? Or is it OK for a while?
At bedtime, the older birds have also started to pick on the 2 youngest ones again - I'm sure this is relatively recent, and can only assume it's linked to their becoming ready to lay? Things got so bad a week or two back that the youngsters refused to go into the coop at all, and would perch on the roof to try to roost there instead. I felt I had to intervene at that point and insist they went inside because it's too cold to roost outside, even under shelter, at the moment. I hadn't realised at that point that the older birds were pecking them inside the coop the moment they entered.. The 3 of them would space themselves out and attack the youngest ones as they went in through the door. We seem to have managed to get through that a bit now, although they're still being pecked at bedtime. Instead of sitting on the roof they now go in first while the others are eating, and then just dig in and let themselves get pecked... I hope I haven't made things impossible for them
.The bird who's probably a few days closer to laying was treated differently yesterday though - she was pecked repeatedly on her head and back until she squatted and put her head down and went totally submissive. The other bird just got chased away from the coop. I'm seriously hoping this shows it's 'only' a matter of reinforcing the hierarchy, and it'll all settle down once laying commences and the Babes acknowledge their place in the Great Chicken Scheme of Things?
Am I best just keeping an eye on things and letting them work through their issues on their own, or should I be doing anything to intervene? Or does intervening just make things worse? At the moment I try to be there as they're putting themselves to bed just to make sure things don't get out of hand, but I'm not stopping any pecking that 'might' be considered 'normal'...
Need guidelines please!
Thanks.
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