We are still struggling with bedtime. The problem lays with the bigger girls not the little girls. The little girls know where they are supposed to go at bedtime and they want to go in the shed and get onto their little perch.
The problem is that the big girls do so much jumping up and down from the perches that they intimidate the little girls. When the bigger girls finally seem to be settled, the little girls attempt to go in, but once they are in the shed Speckles jumps down again and scares them back out.
I have watched them night after night and it’s clear that Speckles is still bottom of the bigger girls and although they all perch happily together during the day at bedtime the pecking order is firmly invoked. None of the bigger girls will tolerate Speckles next to them. Most of the time she ends up on the corner perch by herself.
During the day I have often observed what I call “paying it down”. If Toffee has a go at Emerald she will turn round and have a go at Peaches or Barley. They will then have a go at Speckles. Speckles in turn will have a go at the little girls.
This seems to be happening at bedtime with all the girls pecking Speckles away from them, it can appear quite brutal. She then, in turn, jumps back down from the perch and chases the little girls out when they try to get to their perch.
I end up watching over them until they can go in safely and sometimes I help things along by moving Speckles back to the perch or even by placing the little girls on their perch. It’s not a problem when I am around to do this but I need this to progress for the times when I am not here.
Today for example we have an afternoon tea to cater for and it’s an hours drive from us. This is outside our usual delivery area but being a Saturday we don’t have corporate lunches to deliver so we have agreed that they will contribute towards the cost of the diesel and we will deliver it and set it up for three o’clock and return to clear by six o’clock. This means that it will be about seven o’clock before we get back and the girls are in bed by between half past five and quarter to six at the moment.
This will be the night that we see what happens when I am not here. I am going to prop the pop hole door open so that the little girls can’t get shut out. I have no idea if they will be able to make it to their perch before it gets too dark, without my help. If not I hope that they will at least go in and settle on the floor of the shed.
If they are on the shed floor I will lift them to the perch when we get back and if they are outside the shed I will put them in. I really hope they don’t end up outside the shed. I don’t like not being here but it can’t be helped and maybe it will move things on. At least I will be back to put them in about an hour after their usual bedtime.
Below are some photos of last night’s bedtime line up which is typical and is the order they have ended up in for the last few nights.
The little girls on their perch, goodness knows what Pebbles is looking at!
Speckles on the corner perch on her own
Peaches and Barley together
Toffee and Emerald keeping their distance
This is really typical. Peaches and Barley, and, Rusty and Freckles, are the only girls that actively want to be together. They are the only bonded duos that really want to be together and are distressed if they can’t be together.
Pebbles tolerates Rusty and Freckles but will peck them if they get too close when they first perch up. As it gets a bit darker she accepts them.
Peaches and Barley have always wanted to perch together but the other three don’t want to be close to each other or to Peaches and Barley. I think perhaps if you have a flock all at the same time this may not happen but if you add girls as time goes on the divisions seem to be set. Having said that Emerald and Toffee joined the flock together and they don’t choose to sit close to each other either.
It may not be the same in all flocks but in our flocks this is how it is and the bigger girls go through this every night but end up all settled in plenty of time before the door closes. The question is ….. will the little girls be able to settle without my help. Tonight we will see but that will be tomorrow’s post.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I hope all goes well,I never knew all this went on with hens.
I think most people don’t realise what goes on with chickens. I am going to put my post out in the morning.
Mine are kind of similar. If I stand outside the back of the Cube at bedtime I can hear lots of squealing despite the fact that they’re all quite harmonious during the day. The 2 pekins go to bed first, but then when the Wyandottes go in there’s a lot of squealing and the pekins are kicked out. They then usually wait a while until the Wyandottes are settled before they go in. The 2 new Araucanas don’t even bother to try until everyone else is settled, and then they’re not allowed on the perch (something I added to the Cube) but instead huddle together(ish) on the roosting bars out of reach of everyone else.
Again, similar to yours, although there are 3 pairs who came together (pair of Wyandottes, pair of Pekins, pair of Araucanas), it’s only the pekins who really need to snuggle in together. I think it’s because the pekins came to me together when they were only 10 weeks old, whereas the Wyandottes were 18 months and the Araucanas were POL (not that they’ve laid yet!).
It is so good to know that I am not alone. As you say, I stand outside and hear lot’s of squealing and bumping about and it’s harmonious during the day but a different matter at bedtime.
I have found in the past that if you have POL hens late in the year they often don’t lay until they are older than usual. The later in the year that they are hatched, the older they can be before starting.