Hen pecking at head of another hen while it’s being mounted by Roo

[The Happster]

@Shadrach
Sorry to keep quoting you but your articles were very interesting and you clearly know your stuff. Thinking you could answer this.

 

[Shadrach]

Can someone explain to my why my 2 SLW hover over and peck the head of my CLB while my Roo mounts and breeds with her?
The SLWs are very dominant pullets and this CLB is the lowest in the entire flock order. I have 12 hens and one roo and this is the only bird I have seen them do this to. Is there something I can do to stop this behavior? The breeding is tough enough without other hens coming in to take pot shots at her. They are about 18/19 weeks old and two of my girls have started laying.
Thanks in advance for any insight on this topic.

It's about mating rights essentially. Your hens have a heir achy and in theory the senior hen is the one that gets to mate with the rooster. In theory again, the senior hen has the best gentic prospect because she is senior. However, roosters tend to have favorite hens and his favorite may not necessarily be the most senior.
You can think of it as ' get off my man you hussy' type behaviour. It rarely amounts to anything serious, although I have had senior hens here attack the rooster as well.
The other problem is the rooster will pay more attention to the hens that are laying eggs. This can also cause the behaviour you describe when a senior hen isn't laying.

 

[Shadrach]

Thank you. It's not a problem.