I think…have suspected this for a couple of weeks now when a couple of hens decided to start laying elsewhere other than their designated boxes…I’ve got one laying in a cupboard under the house…

However when I put Goldie out for a bit of time off the nest, as suggested by Happy Potter, I was aghast to see some of the hens come over and jump on her, and scratch her back…everywhere she went they just pecked away, I ended up with a broom, swiping the antagonists…

I think I know the ringleader, she is the one who asks to be picked up and petted…should I have her rehomed, turned into blood and bone, or set up a new-ish coop for Goldie…Goldie is (was) the love of Pancho’s life and he hers, until she started having chickens…

It’s been a thought for some time that I set up an arrangement for a vegetable garden patrolled by bantam types such as Goldie, with a roost…she has feathers on her legs and a top-knot, would that be “cocchin” type fowl?

twiddles thumbs

the pecking order is being asserted. It is quite normal if distressing. If you remember I had some problems a little while ago with some of my hens fighting and had to isolate some for a while. They are all back in the one pen together again but the pecking order is still apparent, if less violent.

If Goldie has been separated from the others then she will be at the bottom of the pecking order and will have to assert her rights in the flock again. I would tend to separate the bully for the while, she would then lose her Alpha Hen status with the flock. You can then reintroduce her again later.

There will be a certain amount of fighting among hens as they find their place in the pecking order. Usually it is best to leave them to it but if serious injury is being done then you may need to intervene. If blood is drawn then the wound will be a target for further pecking so that hen will need to be separated until the wound heals.

I have always had hens lay where they will so to me that fact that they are finding other nesting spots is not a cause for worry, except if you can’t find them!

Thanks BlueGreen…Goldie was dustbathing with Marion Mary an hour ago, so there is hope yet…it’s a big back yard so she can get away from them provided they don’t seek her…

The trouble with the Lohman Browns is they all look mostly the same so it’s hard to ID the bullying ones…even the one which wants to be picked up…if it’s still ongoing after a few days, I’ll try to note the hen and isolate her, as you say…

Dinetta said:

Thanks BlueGreen…Goldie was dustbathing with Marion Mary an hour ago, so there is hope yet…it’s a big back yard so she can get away from them provided they don’t seek her…

The trouble with the Lohman Browns is they all look mostly the same so it’s hard to ID the bullying ones…even the one which wants to be picked up…if it’s still ongoing after a few days, I’ll try to note the hen and isolate her, as you say…

What BG said.
But also, those hybrid browns, even when they appear to flock well together in numbers, will often pick on one that’s been out of the loop even for a few days eg broody, then returned to house with them.
I had 2 silkies in with my 4 isa browns years ago, they got on famously. Then Lin Lin went broody and I set her with eggs in a different area. Well the browns decided to pick on the single silkie the very next day and it was savage, only just managed to get her out in time and there was a lot of blood on her. I have kept any smalls housed separately from any biggies ever since.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Thanks BlueGreen…Goldie was dustbathing with Marion Mary an hour ago, so there is hope yet…it’s a big back yard so she can get away from them provided they don’t seek her…

The trouble with the Lohman Browns is they all look mostly the same so it’s hard to ID the bullying ones…even the one which wants to be picked up…if it’s still ongoing after a few days, I’ll try to note the hen and isolate her, as you say…

What BG said.
But also, those hybrid browns, even when they appear to flock well together in numbers, will often pick on one that’s been out of the loop even for a few days eg broody, then returned to house with them.
I had 2 silkies in with my 4 isa browns years ago, they got on famously. Then Lin Lin went broody and I set her with eggs in a different area. Well the browns decided to pick on the single silkie the very next day and it was savage, only just managed to get her out in time and there was a lot of blood on her. I have kept any smalls housed separately from any biggies ever since.

Thanks to both for your informative posts, the picture is becoming clearer now, especially as the late Broodie (another hen, my famous araucana) returned to welcoming wings on the flock… not sure if Biddie is a Lohman Brown but she was outnumbered by the other two white ones at the time…

Goldie settling in so much better today, eating her head off if I can feed her whilst the others aren’t around…I shut the gates to the back yard and she was unable to fly over the fence to get to the roost, but I think I’ll do the same tonight, and trim her eye-feathers…if you know what I mean…

bluegreen said:

I have always had hens lay where they will so to me that fact that they are finding other nesting spots is not a cause for worry, except if you can’t find them!

…and this is the $$$ problem…I’m feeding them more grains now that it’s winter (and they are eating more grains) but I feel “gypped” when the eggs aren’t available for collection…

Dinetta said:

bluegreen said:

I have always had hens lay where they will so to me that fact that they are finding other nesting spots is not a cause for worry, except if you can’t find them!

…and this is the $$$ problem…I’m feeding them more grains now that it’s winter (and they are eating more grains) but I feel “gypped” when the eggs aren’t available for collection…

many breeds go off the lay in winter too. Commercial hens like Isa Browns are bred to lay constantly but this is not the norm.

I’ve been thinking, if Goldie goes broody again I’ll let her set on her own eggs, but the time after that I might source some eggs over the internet…will put up a better photo of Goldie one of these days so you can ID her breed, and source the fertile eggs over the internet. A neighbour has small hens, miniature chookens really, plus a matching little rooster, if the worst comes to the worst I could probably buy some fertile eggs off them…

Am starting to think fondly of Australorps…although I do hanker for araucanas as well, just for the blue-shelled eggs…

No more Lohman-Browns tho’, I just don’t like the idea of a hen that lays itself out for 2 years, can’t be good for the chook…

Dinetta said:

No more Lohman-Browns tho’, I just don’t like the idea of a hen that lays itself out for 2 years, can’t be good for the chook…

Agreed. There is a cost in health in return for the high production egg laying.