4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[chickencam]

We let our girls out to freerange on Saturday and Betha who had just laid an egg jumped on Dippy's back and grabbed her neck in much the same way that a cockerel does

 

Has anyone else seen behaviour like this?

 

Dippy is a little skinny White Star and Bertha is a big Light Sussex

[The Dogmother]

That often happens when the dominant hen wants to assert her authority, and as with a cock, she will have her favourite. It doesn't hurt the bullied hen at all, but I always boot the dominant one off and make her submit to me (push her back down and make her lap dance. They seem to go through phases of doing it and it doesn't happen all the time.

[chickencam]

Bertha is probably about 3rd in the pecking order but she is the biggest and Dippy is definately the bottom of the heap and the smallest but the best layer. She doesn't help her own cause because she is very flighty and will sometimes just run up and down in terror even when nothing is going on, which makes the others chase her, silly girl . The only way we can get hold of her is by shutting her in the eglu then getting her out of the egg port.

[Egluntyne]

One of mine does that quite often.

 

I do as Claret does and hoik her off and make her submit to me.

 

It does seem to help.

[chickencam]

I'd have trouble catching Bertha she is nearly as flighty as Dippy and very noisy however i will give it a go, thanks