Stress in organic chickens - Part Three continued - Power Games - strategies to prevent and stop stress

Solutions then and now

The first thing I did (and still do today), was to instigate  'time-out', I firmly believe in this procedure for both the perpetrator and victim in cases of bullying and stress and that they should be kept apart for at least some hours of the day. Most importantly this should include the key periods when stress levels can become elevated, so, if you have them, set feeding times and the hour before they go to roost. When you finally decide to regroup them as a flock, you may have to make yourself the dominant 'bird', so as to ensure that the victim gets well-fed. You can do this either by policing the food plates or more easily getting her/him out first thing in the morning. At night you may have to physically arrange everyone on the perch. Not only does this help the 'stressed-out' but also the 'stressor' as it puts you firmly above him or her in the pecking order. 


I would not under any circumstances put either bird in a cage within view of the other or any other member of the flock. In fact I would cut out the idea of cages altogether. A cage to a hen is what it would be to us and just furthers the idea of division and difference in status. If you do not have the room to move birds about then try to find a friend to take one of the birds for a day or so. If the worst comes to the worst, although if you have a homestead this probably means no big deal, bring your bird inside your house.

Giving a bird some tlc, at any difficult part of its life not only boosts its confidence but helps it when it returns into the flock. You have by allowing it into your domain, given it a little edge, a bond between you. Hastings (left) had a dreadful fight with his brother over a hen and the time we spent just calming him down and giving him a big hug probably did just as much for his stress levels as the electrolyte and wound treatment achieved.

I made sure of it then and it is a rule I have followed ever since, that at night everyone can perch at the same height. I always construct my perches to be at one level and  ensure everyone is positioned on them. I now instinctively know who will not get on with whom and which hen or cockerel can act as an intermediary. Again, I think of my chickens as individuals, hens have off days, particularly if broody, relationships with others are fluid and thus can change. Any chicken who is broody or maybe through age or injury can not/or just won't perch is given a cardboard box. This box has seemingly some significance in hen house shibboleths, it seems to stand for a separate entity within the house. Whereas, sitting on the floor or perching on a lower level than the rest signifies lower station.

Birds are very much a cohesive group at night, they preen and chatter and presumably 'chill out ' from the tensions of the day. The cockerels flap and crow together in the morning so any indication that one bird has more height advantage i.e. status, than the dominant hen and cockerel, can begin to cause problems and therefore result in stress. Sneezy the Silver Sebright hen, perched left, is in fact dominant!

Physical Fights, Flock and Family Feuds, Stress, Problems and Solutions

 

The worst fights with resultant elevated stress levels I have witnessed in my flock have been duels between brothers over a single hen. The rest of the altercations between cockerels have been purely ritualistic and with no actual physical contact.  In 14 years these brotherly feuds have happened 3 times and have always ended in blood and tears or rather tears to the wattles. Although we have normally been able to sort these out by implementing the above strategies, I was once obliged, in the case of three brothers, to finally give one away and interestingly he became the dominant cockerel in that new flock. Mostly however, time out, tlc and staggered feeding and supervised perching times works. In addition letting one of the duellists out early in the morning amongst  the hens also allows him to meet other partners and often solves the problem.

Similarly, I have hens who fight over nest boxes. In the old hen house,  we had a three compartment nest box, which Dorothy and the Ardenners squabbled over now and again but not with any real elevated stress levels. However, these two Polish x Ardenner sisters got into such a fit of pique with each other over the middle box, that I took the partitions out. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best!

Food, in particular insect and invertebrate protein and the competition for it can sometimes cause conflict and stress. So siting a compost bin within each territory and regularly having digging sessions within the same, really helps sort this out. The requirement for the amino acid methionine has a direct effect on the nervous system and something we need to provide for. Hen fights over food can be nasty affairs, with hens pulling feathers and pecking at each other. Making adequate provision for a whole raft of foodstuffs but in particular wild protein and greenery seems to me to be of tantamount importance. This is never more pressing than when a hen has chickens, lack of protein for the babies just adds to the stress. Luckily and for reasons only they could tell you, my four flocks allow passe-partout in all territories for mothers with chicks and even later in their development, there is some leeway allowed when these same chicks leave the nest. 

Territorial boundaries, the siting and design of hen houses and how they affect the nervous systems of the flock, predator stress and forest gardening solutions will all be dealt with in the next post.

If you enjoyed this article and found it found it useful, feel free to share, comment and ask questions. All the best and thanks for dropping by,

Sue

RETURN TO CONTENTS PAGE
© 2014 Sue Cross

Stress in organic chickens - Part Three - Power Games - strategies to prevent and stop stress

In the following two part article I explore the problem of stress triggers from dominant birds. This includes general hen house arguments, from romance to food fights and delving back into the past as well using present events to share my opinions, analyses and solutions.


At the initial stage in a conflict or situation, if you can find find the reason for stress, then you can start to implement some strategies for prevention as well as cure. In my experience stress is not only a problem in itself but can cause, malabsorption and depletion of nutrients, depression, suppression of the immune system and can easily, if untreated, lead to serious illness and death.

Right from the start of our chicken keeping adventure, here in our garden in France, I was made aware of how much stress could be engendered by situation, environment, behaviour and relationships. It was in fact a mirror of the human condition. From that first happy day when we were presented with Poulie and Chicklette, I realised that we were going to be in for a bumpy ride. The first year taught me so much about hens, life here then was a lot simpler, no internet, no house renovation, just gardening and observing and learning valuable lessons for the future.

Changing group dynamics can be a recipe for stress

Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths but Chicklette, above right, quickly began to dominate this tiny flock of two, even going so far as to crow. When I added another hen, Big Dorothy a standard-sized Wyandotte cross, Chicklette became even bossier, preventing Dorothy from perching, keeping her away from oyster shell and causing difficulties at feeding time. Poulie was much more pragmatic about Chicklette's dominion, she got quietly on with her life, however in so doing, this left Dorothy open to the full force of Chicklette. My initial feeling was that, as I was introducing another hen to two sisters, there would be difficulties.  What I wasn't expecting to happen, particularly with such a large hen as Dorothy, was how quickly she began to show in her behaviour and  demeanour 'learned submissiveness' when around both the Ardenners.

A word of caution....

Flock dynamics are a vexed question for humans, I've been watching my birds for years and the conclusions I have come to about them is as follows:
- that they are so complex and fluid that they are beyond human understanding
- that interference can create a power vacuum and lead to worse problems. 
- that humans can really mess things up!

Therefore if you are not sure, always deal with the victim first and let the flock decide who the dominant birds should be. Things often sort themselves out and in most satisfactory ways. 

Here Squeeky, recovered from a bad bout of stress due to cold and loss of status as dominant cockerel, has not only bonded with Bubble to create a mini fiefdom but is already on the way to creating a new flock. All I did was treat him for an emergency stress attack and give him some time-out in the house and front garden, where he met up with Bubble. To intervene in the benign minor power struggle, which is still apparent some 2 years later, between a frizzled Cochin and three Polish brothers would have meant endless problems. The flock decided on this action themselves, they actually stood round and watched as Squeaky and one of the Polish carried out a ritual fight, after which they all seemed to agree that he was deposed. Since then we have had a coalition of some sort and Squeaky has just got on with his life, in the full knowledge that no one was big enough to take his place!

 

Dominant hens in flocks without cockerels  and vice-versa

I however, was well aware that my main problem with Chicklette and Dorothy was one of overweening dominance within a trio of hens. Once I began to expand the flock and include a cockerel or two, things began to get even better for Dorothy (front) and Chicklette calmed down to the level of just dominant hen. A lone dominant hen, from all I have observed in my flocks, will take on the mantle of dominant cockerel too. In doing this she makes herself a superpower, with the potential to cause permanent stress within the flock. Witnessing the power struggles of our neighbours' poultry, where they often have  separate single sex flocks of 14 to 20 'meat' cockerels, the same holds good where there are no hens, nor dominant hen. 


It is very true, as Lord Acton famously remarked, that 'power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. However, before this happened with my three French hens, there were things I could do to alleviate the situation.

What if I can't have/don't want a cockerel in my flock?

 

No flock is ever the same, sometimes you can get the mix just right even without the addition of a cockerel. My first pair of pullets had come from a flock with both a dominant hen and cockerel. I inferred that, left to their own devices as a pair, they had just created their own version of this rule. It would be interesting to observe if a flock made up entirely of hens, who from hatch had never known of a cockerel, develops the same problems. I do know that people who have flocks of hens but with a well-balanced dominant hen have found that a challenge to her rule and take-over by another hen, can have similar results to mine. Therefore, maybe supreme dominance in birds it is a mixture of nature and nurture and/or personality traits. Whatever the situation all is not lost even without the possibility of a cockerel. 

In the next article I will share some of the ideas I implemented for Dorothy, Chicklette and Pouldini and which I still use to this day.

to be continued...
RETURN TO CONTENTS PAGE

© 2014 Sue Cross