gavclojak Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Am I a really poor chook keeper? Everyone seems to know the pecking order of their girls but I really don't have a clue! Princess layer is the first out in the morning and always last to bed closely followed by alana then Betty and Barbara is always last. So layer is the boss? If layer goes too near the food that Betty is pecking she gets a peck on the head, the same near alana, she isn't allowed to eat too near them. Betty the boss? Alana sleeps in the nest box? Alana the boss? They all potter together but alana always gets prime position on the logs, swing, tyre, and branches! Alana the boss? Layer is always first on my knee for a treat and the others don't bother! Apart from a bit if bullying here and there it seems to work but should it:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Princess Layer is bottom then Alana. Betty and Barbara or top chuck and enforcer but from your description it's hard to say which is which but I think Barbara could be top girl before I had a cockerel with my girls my top girl was the fair one and only belted another girl as a last result but no2 i.e. the enforcer was the one the kept the others in line and it was the no3 girl that was the bully/thug but not to any extent that she was nasty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 Ah I should have added that Barbara is the one getting her bottom pecked at the moment, she bled yesterday but I am hoping it is a one off. Barbara is ALWAYS last out in the morning. Princess layer always first out and last to bed!! Alana ALWAYS goes to bed first followed by Betty then Barbara ......silly strange girls.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 It may be that it's less obvious because you only have 4, and that these are your first chooks. With our first lot of batts we had 7 but I still couldn't say for sure which roles each had. As we added to and lost from the flock we began to see the dynamics: the one who is always right (and possibly one who enforces that), the one who is always wrong, the social climbers, the rabble. If you still had Hen Solo with you I think she would be 'the one who is always wrong', probably why she got pecked so badly. As it is, she is fitting in nicely with my other 'bottom hens' and the 'top hen' and 'enforcer' they currently live with. The fun & games will occur when I introduce the rest sometime: the social climber and the rabble will want to maintain their places.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 Haha that was a funny post...rabble...just text you so you know the whole boring story....you should be my hen Samaritan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 When I had my first 4 hens it was very obvious who came where in the pecking order. As hens have come and gone, it seems to have become much more complicated with ranking in the flock changing. Now I have a rough idea of who is bossier than who, but I certainly couldn't list the pecking order in my current flock. As long as the hens know who's in charge, that's the main thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
