As I have no photographs to go with today’s post I thought I would include some of the girls having some probiotic, live, yogurt this morning. I like to give them this occasionally as it’s good for them and they love it.
Yogurt for the girls
Even Toffee joins in
Last year at around the time of egg laying starting up again Honey had a few spats with Amber. The last one was severe enough to leave Amber with a peck on her face which swelled up and resulted in, Amber who had always been above Honey in the pecking order, slipping down to below Honey. It has stayed this way ever since with Honey giving Amber a peck every now and then to insure she stays below her and Amber has not contested it since then. I might just add that I think the peck to Amber’s face was probably accidental and they were most likely aiming to peck each other’s combs.
This year I was pleased that this didn’t happen between them again which I assume is because Amber now just accepts her place below Honey (or doesn’t want to get her face pecked again if she can remember that far back).
So I was totally surprised to see Honey and Barley having a spat a few days ago and then again this morning. Barley had her ruff raised and both Honey and Barley were going for each other and hanging on to each other by the back of the neck. On both occasions I tried to break it up which wasn’t easy.
I think this is happening again because they have all come back in to lay (apart from Toffee) and I think Honey wants to make sure she doesn’t slip down the pecking order. I think she is going for Barley because Barley’s comb is bigger than Peaches so she probably perceives Barley as the most likely to be a threat to her place in the pecking order.
I haven’t seen any change in their behaviour to each other outside the spats so I think the order has remained the same for now. I was surprised at how Barley held her ground though and didn’t run from Honey. I had wondered if the order may change once Peaches and Barley had matured.
Honey was at the bottom of the pecking order for a long time before Toffee, Emerald, Peaches and Barley joined the flock and I always thought she seemed happy to be bottom girl. I realise now that she probably just accepted it and once new girls came she made sure they stayed below her and then seemed to set about rising above Amber. Peaches and Barley seem fearless so I wonder if she sees them as a threat to her position.
Peaches and Barley used to have little spats with each other as chicks but it just involved ruff raising and running at each other and always seemed more like play fights rather than anything serious. Since they have matured I have never seen them peck at each other and I think they are probably on an equal level. They are so close and so bonded to each other.
Honey and Barley were really grabbing each other by the back of the neck and holding on. It probably looked worse than it was as they didn’t peck each other’s combs and I would say they seemed to come out of it with no winning party.
Egg laying does seem to set the hormones racing and change their behaviour because this only seems to happen at this time of year. It also seems to be bottom chick syndrome with Honey determined not to slide downwards.
Topaz as head girl has no need to spat with any of the girls as she is so firmly in her top position. She will give a quick peck at any girl that gets too near her and all the girls know not to mess with her. She comes across as quite a little thug, always having a go for no reason, but often the pecks don’t actually connect and are just a warning.
I always find the pecking order so interesting and I think I have probably not seen the end of these spats yet. I will remain observant.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I read this with interest as since having my two new girls Clesea and Ruby I have been looking out for pecking order and I can’t see pecking order at all . Old girl Clover is and always will be top chick.
Apart from the first two weeks when Blossom went for the new girls life just goes on . They all just do their own thing .
The only other observation is that Bonny second old girl now just does her own thing and stands back from the others .
I at first thought that out of the two new girls Ruby would be bottom but they are like two peas in a pod .
It is odd isn’t it that two flocks should be so different. The pecking order in my flock is so obvious and enforced every day. Topaz shows every girl she is top as you have seen on your visits. Sparkle will give a swift peck to Honey and Amber to show them their place and the other girls just when they get in her way. Honey shows Amber every now and then to make sure she knows she is still below her. Toffee who is really shy only pecks at Emerald to show her she is below her and Emerald in turn only pecks at Peaches and Barley to show them they are below her. Peaches and Barley are the only ones who peck at none of the girls or at each other which is why I think they have settled at joint bottom place because they are so close. Even in the top photo you can see that Peaches and Barley are together as always. There is just no doubt of the order in my flock and my husband is always saying why can’t they just rub along but I can see that keeping the order is really important to them. Your girls are just so laid back in comparison!
My flock probably falls somewhere between yours and Jackie’s. No real spats, but quite a number of pecks. Pavlova, one of the marans, would like to be top hen but should know she’s not really in the running. She bullies Dart and one or two of the wyandottes but got her comeuppance the other day. She obviously forgets who’s where when they go broody and tried to peck Galaxy, the diminutive pekin when I removed her from the nest box. Two seconds later, Pavlova was squatting, then running away. Lesson not learned, however: did the same thing with Cotton, the silkie, yesterday and was very firmly sent packing down the pecking order.
It is interesting to watch isn’t it. Mostly my flock just do a quick peck but it’s funny how these full on spats always involve Honey! She seemed such a quiet, bottom girl for a long time and now seems to be the instigator of proper spats. She is obviously determined never to be too near the bottom again.
I definitely agree that it’s to do with coming into lay. I think it’s hormonal.
I have two Wyandotte bantams and two Pekins (Bernadette and Shelley. The Pekins are a year old and have always been really close and done everything together. Like Peaches and Barley they had a few practice squabbles as pullets, but neither really won and nothing since. Bernadette came into lay last September but that didn’t affect the relationship. However last week when Shelley finally came in to lay she decided she didn’t want to be bottom, so she spent a day or two beating up Bernadette
Things are calm again now, but a new order has been established.
I have seen this several times over now and am absolutely convinced that as you say it is always when they come into lay. Suddenly hormones are raging and anything that needs to be established is going to be sorted out now. It is never to do with any of the girls at the top but is always the girls at the bottom, this is when bottom girl decides she is not going to be bottom any more or close to bottom decides it’s time to make a stand and move up or at least prove she not moving down. It seems that it just needs to be done so that harmony can resume once the order is established. It’s just so odd to us, mere humans, to see the sweet bottom girls become so aggressive in their move to go up a step in the pecking order. Pecking order is all important and never more so than at this time of year.