The Psychology Of Hens.

On Saturday we added 3 hens to our family. These were bought from a local man who has a collection of around 1,100 hens in his back field. A nice little earner considering each hen provides in excess of 300 eggs a year, and he sells these to major supermarkets and organic farmshops. The hens are hybrids - a mixture of the best egg-laying breeds on the market -Rhode Island Red and Light Sussex. We have kept hens free-range in our back garden since 2000, and since the demise of our much loved patron hen, Hattie, felt we needed to build our hen family up again. So along come the arrival of Poppy, Amber and Etta. They settle in very quickly, and they appear to be getting along rather well.

24 hours later and they are feeding at the trough. Poppy and Etta are contently pecking away, and on becoming aware of this, Amber tries to get in on the action herself. She is gentle and not forceful. However, in noticing Amber's quest for food, Poppy makes a sharp pecking gesture towards her, in which Amber backs away in response. A few minutes later, Etta leaves the trough and drinks some water, hoping then to return to resume her meal. No such luck. On approach, Poppy again gestures at Etta in a domineering and controlling manner. Etta backs away. Amber and Etta watch from behind as Poppy happily pecks away at the dinner provided for all three. It seems that the pecking order has been established; we have a dominant hen.