HIGH, HIGHER, HIGHEST

The higher a bird perches, the higher she is in the flock’s pecking order. If your coop sports a ladder as a roost, with different levels of perch space available, the alpha bird(s) will gravitate toward the top when it comes time to roost. If there’s a rooster in your flock, he’ll almost always be at the very top. A flock’s hierarchy can change over time as birds become sick, weak, die, age, go broody, or if they’ve been removed from the flock for a time. Take a peek at your flock while they roost at night to get a sense of where each individual bird falls in the group’s pecking order. You may be surprised.

the alpha of the flock, in turn reducing the fighting among hens for the top spot. Reduce Stressors. Reduce any other stressors before integrating birds. Stressors like poultry shows, long hours or days of travel, and the strain of transportation can leave the flock irritated and distressed, having to reestablish the pecking order all over again.

When you’re ready, here are five tricks for integrating two flocks:

Quarantine any new adult birds from the established flock for three to four weeks before making the integration. This allows time to watch for signs of illness and disease. It also provides a chance to treat for any health-related problems in the new birds (ideally, you bring home only healthy chickens). If the birds you are integrating are youngsters that you have raised and have spent time on the same soil as the main flock, they are exempt from this isolation period.

Let the two flocks hear and see each other during the quarantine period by setting up housing accordingly. Of course, both flocks must have safe living quarters, roosts for sleeping, nest boxes, and food and water.

After the quarantine period, give everyone some free-range time together to get acquainted. This gives both flocks the opportunity to meet-and-greet but also allows everyone the space to take cover and hide if need be.

Gradually move the flocks closer. Move the new birds into the main flock’s housing with a barrier. A dog crate, kennel or partition fenced off is ideal for this part of the transition.

When you feel they are ready, place the new birds on the roost with the main flock after dark. This will reduce initial fighting and allow the birds to “wake up” with each other the next morning. Keep everyone together in the enclosure for the first few days. Remember, no matter how smoothly or gracefully two flocks of chickens are integrated, there will always be some fighting and show of aggression as the birds work out their new pecking order. The fighting may be as little as a few pecks here and there, or it could result in severe bullying. Always watch newly integrated flocks very closely during the first few weeks. Look for signs of injury, such as blood, loss of feathers or voluntary isolation. Treat accordingly. Also, monitor all of the birds to be sure they have access to food and water, and that no one is getting chased away in a show of dominance. As long as everyone is eating and drinking, don’t be alarmed if egg laying slows down in the first few weeks. It will pick back up when they’ve all adjusted to their new flock mates.

On rare occasions, some birds will never get along. It’s rather uncommon, but it does happen. If you find your flock in constant turmoil with endless fighting, cannibalism and/or starving birds, consider how important it is to you that you keep all of these birds together. Instead, consider culling (removing) one bird or two from the flock, and see how the dynamic changes. In my experience, removing the bully allows the flock to reorient its hierarchy. When the bully is returned, bickering may end altogether. If it doesn’t, consider making the choice to permanently remove one or more birds from your flock.

BROODINESS

Broodiness is the maternal instinct of a hen to sit on a nest (or clutch) of eggs until they hatch. Just as she is going broody, a hen will lay up to 10 eggs, and then get comfortable — literally and figuratively. She’ll find a cozy nest, turn over the bedding, fluff up her bedding and get cozy. Her goal is to sit on her clutch until they hatch, about three weeks later.

While most of our favorite breeds of domestic laying hens have long since had the brooding instinct bred out of them, some breeds still have a tendency to go broody. How often this happens depends on temperament, too. Some individual chickens, regardless of their breed, are more prone to broodiness than others. Usually in conjunction with the shorter days of the fall, a hen may experience a surge of the hormone prolactin, released from her pituitary gland, which signals her body to

hens become aggressive or defensive of their nest. Be careful and be respectful if you try to break a hen’s broody spell. If you suspect one of your girls is going broody and want to keep her from setting, act fast. After a few days of brooding, the following tips are less likely to work.

ICE.

The conditions that a broody hen strives for in her laying and hatching environment are dry, warm and dark. By removing some of these elements, you may have a chance at throwing her off her game. One old-fashioned method is to put a few ice cubes under the hen (after removing any eggs, of course). With this method, you’ll inevitably end up with a soggy nest box but maybe one less broody hen.

WATER.

A similar method removes the hen from the coop and keeps the messes outside. In an attempt to cool off the hen’s bottom, you may try gently dunking her underside in a basin of cool water. Try this method several times a day, in conjunction with temporary new housing. Avoid this method in very cold weather conditions.

WIRE.

A less-messy and lower-maintenance approach is to move your broody hen to cool, drafty, short-term housing. Combating her desire to be warm and dark, remove your broody hen and house her temporarily in a wire-bottom poultry cage or pen with good airflow beneath the cage. (This is the one and only time that wire-bottom pens and drafty housing will be recommended.) Provide her with food and water, of course, but do not give her a nest box or nesting material. Try this method for only a short amount of time — a few days to a week.

Broody hens aren’t all bad; in fact, many backyard chicken keepers find immense joy at hatching their own eggs with one of their hens. Children especially love to watch chicks hatch, learn to forage and grow up with their mother hen — it can be a valuable and beautiful life experience. Letting your broody hen hatch her own eggs is also a great way to add new birds to your flock safely. Just be prepared to rehome any roosters if your city forbids them.

ROOSTER RULES

Most municipalities do not allow roosters within city limits and with good reason: They’re really noisy. Although pop culture

associates roosters with crowing at dawn, they don’t reserve their boisterous vocalizations for daybreak alone. Roosters crow all day long. They are always on the alert for danger, so they’ll crow if they hear or see anything loud or out of the ordinary — that could be kids playing, a car alarm or a door slamming. The rooster’s crow is also his territorial calling card. He’s letting other males in the area know that this is his turf and his flock.

If your city does allow roosters, you may want to consider reading on. Roosters can and do play an important role in the social dynamic of chickens. Keeping a rooster with a flock of laying hens can be beneficial in many ways. Here are a few to consider.

THE PROS

Roosters protect the flock from predators. A good rooster — meaning one who does his job — will put himself between his hens and any danger. If a predator attacks the flock, he will fight the intruder, to the death if necessary. If he’s not able to fight, he will do his best to buy some time to allow the hens to get away. He’s always on the alert with one eye to the sky and the other pointed anywhere else a killer may be lurking.

A rooster means fertilized eggs. If you dream of hatching your own chicks, there’s no better place to start than with your own fertile eggs. Roosters copulate with their hens throughout the day, so if there is a young, healthy rooster among your hens, you can be fairly certain they are laying fertilized eggs.

Keeping a rooster in your flock will eliminate many social disputes. As long as he is mature, most roosters move immediately into the alpha position within the hierarchy. Hens will still squabble to establish their individual status in the rest of the flock’s pecking order, but fights will be significantly reduced. If scuffles between the ladies continue, the rooster will step in and put a stop to it.

A rooster ensures that everyone’s needs are met. When he finds something tasty to eat, he’ll croon to his ladies and let them have first dibs.

THE CONS

For the same reason that roosters make good protectors, they can also be poor additions to family flocks. They are aggressive by nature. We all know someone who grew up on or near a farm