henny penny Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Hi Got my three chickens from Omlet last Friday. One seemed to be boss from the word go. Babs is a gingernut and seems to particularly have a go at the other gingernut, Ginger. Ginger spends all her time checking where Babs is and keeping out of her way, sometimes in the house. The Mrs Pepperpot (Betty Boop) is younger and generally keeps out of the way,but even she gets the odd peck. Do I worry about this? Do I need to get some anti peck spray? Or will things settle down (':?') Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 It all sounds perfectly normal to me - there will always be a small amount of pecking,but it will settle. You may find that whoever is lowest in the packing order will usually still see the wrong side of the others beaks though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygal Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Hi- 2 days down the line from you and I can safely say that the pecking is decreasing thank goodness! I had the same thing- to the extent I was getting worried that Molly was stopping the other 2 from eating and drinking but its just she wanted to be first... aww they all love each other really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozkate Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Mine stopped all that nonsense as they started laying (or it coincided). The first to lay was the bossy one, the submissive one just kept out of the way and the other two continued to peck and fluster until they started to lay. Now they're all laying the only fights we have are for the end of the nest box where they all lay. If one of them is in there and another wants to go in there's WW3! Your storey is so familiar! Loz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henny penny Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Hi thats very reassuring! I cant wait for them to lay.With regards to egg laying what time of day or night do they lay- is it generally overnight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygal Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 As I have only had one egg (to date) I'm not going to be much use on this one! That egg arrived sometime between 8am and 1.30pm! Not much to go on is it?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henny penny Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Well its a start and one more that us. At least its not unreasonable for me to check during the day( hubby thinks i'm mad) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 depends - they will get into a 'cycle' and lay at a similar time each day, but this moves around so they could well lay in the middle of the day. I think morning is more likely, but when they are first starting to lay, anything is possible. Keep checking, nothing beats the excitement of seeing your first egg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol U Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Don't worry about them sorting out the pecking order. It won't last long. As has been said, laying can be at any time really - especially at this time of year when the amount of light plays quite a big part. Once they start, you'll be able to predict when each will lay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Re: laying - it takes 25 hours between eggs (on average) so whilst most hens will lay in the morning to start with the time is likely to get preogressively later. They won't lay at night though as they just sleep when it's dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
