Four weeks ago, we had a group of three. But after Jette started pecking Henna's butt (which can end deadly), it was clear she needed to be kept separate. I had ordered an anti-peck spray, but surprise, it didn't help. It just stank up the coop. So we continued to keep Jette in the coop and the other two in the run. But one day, we discovered that Henna had bloody legs! Apparently, Cleo freaked out and started pecking Henna, all of a sudden, ugh! At that point, we separated all three (which is feasible during the day, but not at night). But Jette jumped over the mobile fence and went straight for her sister. Jette was so aggressive, I even considered sending her to my parents’ friends to be butchered. But before resorting to the chicken soup solution, we made one last attempt: We asked neighbours down the street, who keep around 30 chickens, if they're willing to give Jette a chance. They were reluctant at first but eventually said we could just drop her into their coop. 🫣 So that's what we did. I was hesitant at first – introducing new chickens usually takes time and patience – but we were desperate, so we gave it a shot. And hey, it actually worked! The other chickens were super curious when we put Jette in their midst. Jette started to scratch immediately. In this big group, she's lower in the pecking order and has to behave herself. Now, she's fully integrated and is laying again. Kiddo visits her occasionally and the neighbours keep me updated, haha. So, aggressive hen sorted, and we're down to two hens.

After the Jette drama, Cleo started acting up. The good news: she started laying eggs, yay! The bad news, she took adulting seriously and tried to become the alpha hen. But Henna was quick to put her in her place whenever Cleo tried to dominate. Cleo's sneaky though, fixating on Henna's feet to weaken her. During the day, it was alright, but when they roosted together in the house, she would peck Henna's feet so she'd limp around the next day. My darling Henna is very docile and doesn't retaliate. Soooo, back to square one: Cleo got banished to the shed at night. 🙄 Now, they take turns in the coop and run. Henna healed and even started laying again, yay! Whenever they met when I was present, Cleo would try to peck Henna, and Henna would show her who's the boss.

But then that fateful weekend away happened. While we were away in Thuringia last weekend, we couldn't keep them separate any longer, so I sprayed all the sprays, put Cleo and Henna back together, and hoped for the best, fearfully checking the live cam during the whole weekend.

And what can I say – the tables have turned. The photo shows Henna on Sunday – her comb was all bloodied up. (The black stuff is actually dried blood). Cleo won the domination game, and is now the alpha hen. Henna is terribly afraid of her. 😞 The good news is that Cleo didn't go for Henna's feet this time. With the new pecking order sorted, I thought I'd try to put them together again yesterday. But when I checked after a while, Cleo's comb was bleeding again. 😭 With all the stress, neither of them has laid an egg in days.

Now here's the plot twist: On Saturday morning, we will get four new hens! 🫣 Our hope is that a larger group will reduce the stress and focus on each other. The new chickens are two different breeds – similar in size and temperament, but without feathered feet. I'll probably introduce them to Henna first, so Cleo has to adapt to a new group dynamic later. If the aggressive pecking continues, Cleo might end up joining her big sister in the chick-eat-chick group down the street. Urgh, I'm so stressed out about this! All I wanted was a few eggs ... 😭😭😭

@meoralis Und ich dachte immer, dass mal als Pferdebesitzer den meisten tierischen Stress hätte... 🙄

@meoralis Oh the drama of it all! 🍿😱

OMG. I hope everything goes well on Saturday!! 🫂♥️✨

@meoralis So much drama! This sounds like no fun. I was just saying to my husband the other day how happy I am that our chickens are so harmonious these days. So nice when the chemistry is right.

This is all so stressful! 😫 I can't even offer a funny aside because I imagine this is absolutely zero fun. 😔 Poor Henna! I really, really, really hope that adding the new bunch helps. Someone needs to give Cleo a proper smackdown.

@meoralis I had no idea that chicken relations could be so fraught and vicious, and that “pecking order” could be so literal. Hoping for the best!😬

Way too much stress! Hope your new strategies will calm things down. Good luck!