Pecking order, and the associated drama, is a real phenomenon. If you added new chicks to your flock this year, you are probably going through the steps to safely integrate them into the flock. The chicken flock pecking order will be upset for awhile and drama will ensue. But there are a few steps you can take to minimize the drama.
Understanding Flock Pecking Order
First, understand what the chicken flock pecking order is, and how it helps the flock operate on a daily basis. The chickens in your flock will, for the most part, work this out among themselves. Only occasionally is our interference justified or needed. Chicken flock pecking order keeps peace in the coop. Chickens are smart creatures. They learn to recognize their place in the ranks and for the most part, stick to it. Unless a change is made.
Maintaining a pecking order is actually less stressful for a flock although it may appear harsh when we witness it. Chickens are smart. They learn their place and go on with life, peacefully for the most part.
Make Sure the Chicks Get What They Need
Your pullets will still need appropriate access to a great quality food and fresh water. This will be an important factor as the chicks are introduced to the existing flock. Pecking order rules often call for a senior hen to put the newcomers in their place. This can be as harmless as a gentle peck on the head or escalate to a full attack. Stay calm! While something should be done if chickens are truly attacking each other, overreacting won’t help.
Pecking order won’t be a problem when you begin the transition to the full flock, if you use my method. Here’s what you will need:
- A metal enclosure made of sturdy wire, fencing, or a dog pen.
- Some sort of cover for the pen, to keep the older chickens from flying into the pullet pen. If the wire is study enough, a sheet of thin plywood will do. In other cases, use a tarp and secure it to the sides of the pen.
- Separate water and feed bowls inside the enclosure. At this point your pullets may have transitioned to a grower ration. This is fed sometimes as a step up from chick starter feed, for pullets not ready for layer feed. The protein level is a drop down from the starter feed but still high enough to support growth and development.
- A place in the chicken run to set up the pullet enclosure. It won’t be for long. After a few days you can begin letting the pullets out while you are able to observe pecking order behavior.
More About Pecking Order?
Having multiple feeders or bowls of feed helps the new flock members find plenty of food. The same is true of any herb or grit supplements. Eventually this will calm down and everyone will automatically run to their usual feeding area.
Who Decides Who Is Acceptable in the Pecking Order
Single combed chickens rank higher in the pecking order than other comb styles. The chickens in the popular group may have similar comb styles.
Adding a few new kids to the chicken flock pecking order upsets the status quo. Remember the new kids in school? Some of the cool kids would make some attempts to get to know them. Then it would be determined if they fit the criteria for being part of the cool kids group.
If not they would have to go search for friends elsewhere. It’s about the same for chickens. They check each other out. The hens wonder if they will be replaced in the Rooster’s affections. Its all quite anxiety producing. Until it all settles down again. And it will.
Here are a Few Tips to Help Make the Transition as Stress Free as Possible.
1. The chickens will get to know each other a bit through the wire. Don’t be surprised to see greedy hens and roosters trying to stick their heads into the pen to get more food! It’s all part of the pecking order plan.
This is not the quarantine that you would use for bringing home new chickens, but the method used to introduce your new pullets to the main flock. If you purchase pullets, be sure and quarantine them before adding to your flock.
2. Remove the barrier when you can be present to observe the behavior for awhile. I usually check periodically throughout the first days of adding new flock members.
3. Feed choice. Have plenty of feed (I cover how much food a chicken needs in this post) and water areas set up so that the chickens who get chased away can go to a different bowl. This will help ensure everyone gets adequate nutrition even with mild pecking order issues. When the pullets are still too young to eat layer feed (before 16 weeks), feed the entire flock chick feed or grower feed. Offer plenty of free choice calcium supplement for your laying hens. They will take what they require.
Add Some Private Spaces…
4. Have some places for the timid chickens to hide or go behind, under or into when being chased. Lean a pallet against the fence for a hiding place. A downed tree limb makes a good hiding place for smaller chicks too. Be creative but make sure the structure is safe for your birds.
5. Unless the pecking and chasing is severe, try to not interfere! It’s hard and especially when we have soft hearts ourselves. Unless a chicken is being picked on by many others, and is being held down and pecked, I do not intervene.
Try to remember that we made it out of middle school in one piece! The chickens will survive the initiation into the flock. Good luck with your chicken flock pecking order.
Here’s a good article on feeding younger chicks so they have a great start in life too.
This post is sponsored by Scratch and Peck Feeds. See the benefits in your flock by choosing high quality, organic, non-gmo feed from Scratch and Peck feeds.
Perfect timing. we just brought home 10 new layers. They are about 10 weeks old now and still separated until they are bigger. I’ve got a panel I’m going to use to separate them in the run for a few days while they get to know each other through the fence.
What I’m wondering about is the coop. We have to lock them in at night to protect from predators. The coop is big enough for the number of chickens we have…. but not a lot of hiding spaces for the newbies. Any thoughts on how to lock them in and not end up with a beaten up chick in the morning? Also we are adding ten to the 18 we have. Is that in the new guys favor? There will be a good mix of new and old?
It will work out Sharon. I would recommend some sort of separation in the coop if you can do it even for a night or two. Usually if they go in close to dark, they just head to a roost and go to sleep. Make sure there is plenty of roosting areas available and some at a lower height for the newcomers who maybe aren’t used to flying too high to roost. If you can’t separate in the coop, then I think this will help. In the morning you can assess the situation to see if they are being aggressive to the newcomers or if things are calm and you can observe from time to time throughout the day, they may just need a brief intervention here and there. Hope that was helpful Good luck to you – Janet
Janet
I am thinking seriously about starting a back yard coop for about three hens. Please tell me where to begin this project. I have read and read about the roosting area, feeding area and almost everything I can think of. If I start with a hen house what is the most important things that will be needed before I bring them home. I would love to build one and I have the perfect place for it. Not sure why I am so hesitant except that it may involve more responsibilities than I expected. But oooooh those fresh laid eggs are wonderful. help…
thanks
Viv
Go online and keep researching. A lot depends on how much space you have for a coop. Go on Pinterest and search”chicken coops” for ideas. You can create setups for food and water that don’t require daily maintainence and automated doors that open/close at set times. Eggs need collected daily. You should want to spend time with your hens, not feel obligated.
thank you for your input Carol. I am sure Vivian will appreciate it too
Well it is September 2016 and I have finally finished my chicken coop. The small hen house will inside of the enclosed area that has an adorable screen door for entering. I bought a used wooden ladder for them to sit on and a tarp covers half of the coop to keep the girls cool in the summer. My girls are not here yet but will be arriving in the Spring of 2017. Now how do I keep the girls warm in the winter?
thank you
Vivian
https://timbercreekfarmer.com/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-backyard-chickens/
Vivian perhaps this link will help with your winter chicken care question
Viv I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. There are so many useful resources out there. I am happy to help as I can with information and tips. The most important thing to have before you bring home day old chicks is to have the brooder ready. Have the heat lamp set up and make sure it is working. Have the water at room temp or warmer. Avoid chilling the chicks. As you go on, you will have more questions Locally, make friends at the local feed store where you buy supplies. If they can’t help there are lots of facebook groups and websites. Backyard Chicken Project and Fresh Eggs Daily and Homestead Livestock are some good places to ask questions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/HomesteadLivestock/ Have you checked out my book? I wrote it for newcomers to the poultry world https://timbercreekfarmer.com/raising-chickens-from-scratch/
Perfect timing.
I love my girls. I do see the pecking order. The roosters do favor the older girls they have been with from the start. Sometimes it does seem hard to watch the older hens so to speak putting the younger ones in their place. But I do let them work it out. Even when it comes to the nest, the younger girls have to wait, the older ones make them move or get out of the nest. I put more nest in coop but they still favor the same three nest.
Hi Kelly
Pecking order is a fact of life for chickens. I am glad that is not the case for people! – Janet
When I first put my new pulleys in with the older one I did it right when the older ones went to roost and locked them up in the dark together.I went down early the next morning and let the older ones out and mad a rep wire door for the new chickens so they couldn’t get out where the others were. I would go down a couple of times a day and stay with them while the ran in the coop for an hour or so then put them back up. I did that for a week and then their wasn’t any problems. I go down every morning and put 2 pans of food out. The older ones eat out of one and the younger ones out of the other.
Josh sounds like you have a well thought out chicken coop!
My pullets are 3.5 weeks and seems they are already deciding on pecking order,it has changed once since they were a day old. Is it normal for one to be so bossy and picks on the others?
Hi Maureen. I have seen mine start to form a pecking order early too. It doesn’t mean it will always stay the same as it is right now though. It is normal to have one or two bossy hens but they should not be too aggressive. Best of luck with the new comers
Having lost my 8 chickens to a fox a few weeks ago I have recently adopted 10 more ex batts, just over a week ago. Previously I haven’t had any real problems with the settling in period but this time it’s been more difficult. I have ended up with 3 big bullies and one small bald extremely timid chicken that wasn’t getting enough to eat because the bullies (and others) kept chasing her away from the food and I have 4 feeders. I have had to separate her so she can get enough food but I could do with some advice on reintegrating her with the flock, the rest of whom seem to be settling in ok. At the moment she is in an adjacent pen during the day but I have to put her in the main coop at night and leave her in there for the early morning period because that’s when Mr Fox tend to pay his visit.I have put boards up to block the views of the feeders so it’s not so noticeable to the others when she is eating. I have started putting one of the other smaller less dominant chickens in the separate pen with her during the day – this has gone quite well and I was thinking to add another so that she gets used to eating with others around. When she is in with the whole flock they are not chasing her as much now but she still is reluctant to eat from the feeder and will run away from it as soon as another chicken comes near her – even if they are not actually chasing her away. Is there anything else I can do to help the situation along and get her reintegrated?
Well Lian you are trying a lot of things I would suggest. Another idea might be to separate out the bully leader and put that chicken in a solitary pen and see how she does then. Also, sometimes the chickens will chase the lower hens away until all the choice morsels are consumed. Then they don’t care.
I have 4 hens that all came from the same flock on a farm. (2 leghorns, 1 leghorn mix, & a Red Sexlink= the big bully) They’re all over a year old. I recently rescued a small white (looks like a cornish hen) bantam. It has been almost 2 months with her in a pen right beside their run. I have started putting her in the coop with the big girls after they’ve settled down for the night… I go rescue her at dawn and let her free range. Today, I didn’t and she had peck marks all over her head and was actually bleeding a little. How long does this take? =(
Oh it can vary depending on all sorts of variables. Does she have enough space to get away from the others if they are being mean? Do you have any time when you can stay and observe and intercede if she gets picked on?
Early in the morning (when they’re still in the coop), she has limited places she can hide. These girls are relentless. I have observed them. Even when they are free ranging, The Sexlink will go after her if she’s closer than 30ft or so! Now that I think of it, she doesn’t have anywhere to hide in their run either. What should I put out there?
Today, I tried something new. I pulled my Red Sexlink (the big bully) out and put HER in the bantam’s pen. I thought maybe if I isolated HER she would become “the new kid”.
I had another thought last night. I wonder if she is so much tinier than the other hens that they think she is prey? Something little to catch and eat? Is that a possibility? Just brainstorming here And yes sometimes it works to make the bully be the one in time out. And it may help the situation
bear attack here. lost 15 to mother and her cub. one rooster and four hens survived but one of the hens was injured. she is in re-hab at the moment and do hope that i will be able to re-introduce her to the remainder of the flock. she has a leg injury that will heal but may cause her to walk with a limp and/or a gimp. i’m comfortable with knowing how to reintegrate her but am wondering if the rooster and other hens may not accept her due to her injury if she’s not good as new? any insight or suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated.
That is so sad! I am sorry for the huge loss. I understand your concern about reintegrating the injured hen, but she might surprise you. After a fox attack earlier this year, I had a hen living at our house for a week while she healed. She had no trouble going back into the flock after she healed. I hope that gives you some hope that yours will also.
I live in N east Florida,at what age can my 6 pullets go outside? How long do they get the chick starter food?
This year instead of putting the pullets in with the older hens I switched places and put the older hens in the pullet house and the pullets in the hen house. I then reintroduced the hens back into the hen house a few at a time after the pullets had had time to thoroughly explore and get comfortable in the new quarters. It has worked so much better than just putting them in at night like I have in the past.
I love this idea! thanks for sharing it Karla.
Janet
I enjoyed reading this post. We just got some new chickens, and our first rooster.
yay! congratulations on the new additions. I hope you love raising chickens
Thank you for this article! We have eight hens, all born last spring. They all got along marvelously and then about a month ago, the six big girls (two are bantams) started pecking the little d’uccle bantam. Even if they are free ranging and she is not close to them, they will turn and chase her away, pecking at her head. Hard to take, especially since she is one of our favorites. The other bantam, silkie, is the only one that will let her “hang” with. Guess we will just see what will transpire!
For the first few months it seems to be a very fluid pecking order. The strong don’t often hold power forever. Watch that it doesn’t get out of hand and keep them from doing real harm to her. Other than that I recommend letting them find their equilibrium
We had a peaceful flock of 3 barred rock hens and 1 rooster(7 months old), a Brahma hen(over 2 yrs old) and a polish and sultan(over 1 yr old). We lost one of the barred rock hens recently and it’s all topsy turvy now. One of the remaining barred rock hens keeps chasing off our polish terribly. The polish just got through molting, has most of her new feathers and seems healthy. I have two waterers and 2 feed bowls and we allow them to free range in the daytime. The barred rocks are like their own clique and forage quite a bit on their own but whenever they come back to the vicinity of the coop and run, the “mean girl” barred rock puts the run on the polish and leaves the brahma and sultan alone. Tonight my husband and I had to find the polish in one of our outbuildings in some straw and carry her into the roost because she kept getting chased off when she tried to come in on her own. Everything is peaceful while they are roosting but once the sun rises….aaack!! Am I missing something??
I would try removing the bully hen for a couple days and see if the dynamic changes. Also, try adding a couple more feeding bowls and water bowls just to be sure all can get a chance to eat
We brought two hens to add to the pair we already have. They are ok with being in the run & coop together, except my diva Wyandotte, “Mary,” keeps chasing and pecking the newbies into the coop. She’s not overly aggressive; backs off when they flee, and they roost well together at night. How long will Mary keep after them? I hate to see them quarantined to the coop all day and so stressed out. Thank you!
PS: I so enjoyed looking at the pictures of your flock! Beautiful!
maybe Mary needs a time out like described in the post. Could she schedule a spa day? Sounds like she could use a bit of time in a large dog crate with food and water and time to decompress
You say to try not intervene. My flock killed two new pullets last year and I had one hen going through a hard molt who couldn?t seem to grow back her feathers due to being pecked. I removed the chicken who seemed to be the bully. Is this the correct approach?
Susan what I mean when I say “don’t intervene” refers to small pecks and body language. Of course any time there is strong aggressive behavior you need to go back to the previous step of separating the chickens with wire so they can’t hurt each other or peck one to death. IN the case of a recognized bully, yes, separate the bully from the flock for a few days to reestablish a pecking order