One of our chickens is done molting and has starting laying again and now the other three are molting. We have noticed that the two we used to think of as top of the pecking order now seem to be at the bottom.All of our chickens used to sleep on top of the nesting box and now those two are sleeping on the slightly lower perch far away from the other two (one of which is molting). They seem to have grouped by breed. The two on the nesting box are EEs and the two on the perch are a RIR and a BO.We have also noticed that the one that is laying now seems to be laying much larger eggs.Does this new order stick or does it change again after everyone is back to laying again?
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Ours haven't gone through a molt yet as far as I can tell. What has affected status around here is egg laying. Our hens' (2 EEs, 1 White Leghorn, 1 Speckled Sussex, 1 Welsummer, and 1 Cuckoo Marans - all around 7 months old) pecking order changed as soon as the White Leghorn was the first to lay. She was always the absolute bottom and since she started laying about a month ago, they all treat her as if she is the Queen of All Chickens. I can't wait to see how this changes. As of today one of our EEs started laying- the most beautiful sage-green egg color I've ever seen!
How old are the chickens? Pecking order can change for no reason at all (or so we think) or for many reasons. It's not uncommon at all for hens to lay larger eggs after moulting. Mouting can be stressful on birds and not on others, so it just depends on who's involved :) At least that's how it works at our farm.
I've noticed that the one who is molting has been booted off the roost and is sleeping on a ledge in the coop. It has definitely affected her status. We have one who didn't molt and has continued laying, and one who is done molting and will hopefully start laying again soon. They are now thick as thieves. So funny to watch!
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