Pecking Orders and Dominance in Chickens

Over at Grit, Pam Freeman writes about the pecking order of chickens, noting that "pecking order is a natural and healthy form of communication which helps chickens establish and maintain dominance."

Chickens are flock animals that enjoy social interactions. As with any group, they have a way of organizing so that order is maintained. This is called the pecking order and it influences the daily activities of the flock, from eating and drinking to perching and dust bathing. It has been theorized that the pecking order started with Red Jungle Fowl in Thailand. When food was found, it was important that the flock stayed quiet and orderly so they did not attract the attention of predators. The highest-ranking birds eat first and then lower-ranking birds eat. That way the strongest birds remain fit and able to reproduce, passing on their strong genes. In a flock of chickens, the dominant bird is at the top and no other bird is allowed to peck that bird. However, the chicken at the top and no other bird is allowed to peck that bird. However, the chicken at the top can peck all the others to tell them what to do. The pecking order descends like this from highest to lowest in tank, with the lowest bird not being able to peck any of the other birds while all the other birds are able to peck him or her.

The pecking order in a flock is established early. In fact, studies have shown that chicks can start to show competitive behavior at three days old. After they are 16 days old, the begin to establish the order of dominance. With an all-hen group, the pecking order will be set by the time the chickens are 10 weeks old. It can be even earlier for the small groups of birds-possibly as early as eight weeks.

Note: Pecking is not always bad or violent. It is a normal and important form of communication. In fact, pecking is usually gentle and not even all that noticeable by humans. You’ll find feathers are rarely disturbed as chickens “check out” each other and establish a hierarchy for functioning as a group.

Besides pecking, there are other ways chickens work out their order and show dominance. One chicken might challenge another by puffing up her chest, standing tall, and flapping her wings. The challenged bird can then either choose to show its dominance or back down. Both roosters and hens will also show their dominance by flaring their hackle feathers, which are located on their necks. Sometimes a bird will drop a wing and dance around in a circle to show the others who’s dominant. This can all look funny to watch and a little violent, but humans should not interfere unless a bird is hurt. Usually this process looks worse than it actually is, and none of your birds will be injured.

The pecking order is ever changing, with lower-ranked birds challenging higher-ranked birds for a chance to move up. 

And is it any different in the world of dogs?

Not much. As I wrote some time back,

Dogs have pecking orders every bit as developed as that of chickens.

And YES, dogs are looking for a leader. This last point is one of the secrets every successful dog trainer brings to the table.

Most dogs crave leadership every bit as much as they crave food, love, and time in the sun.

Most dogs have the capacity to be submissive to a true leader. Puppies are submissive to older dogs, and smaller dogs are submissive to larger dogs.

Submission is not fear -- it is followship, the analog to the leadership you should be providing.

And is there a pecking order, i.e. dominance in wild animals too? Absolutely. That's true for wolves, as David Mech and others have noted, but it's also true for deer, moose, zebras, and even badgers.

Here we see two boar European badgers coming to blows over food and a female which saunters into the frame towards the end. Both male badgers walk away without injury.

Is "dominance" a real thing in both the chicken coop and in the hedge?

Yes, it is.  

Is it actually a very useful thing to know a lot about when it comes to dog training? 

I don't think so. 

Dog training has a lot more to do with sending consistent positive signals for wanted behavior and sending consistent negative signals for unwanted or nuisance behavior. 

That said, dominance issues can crop up within a pack of dogs, and even between dogs and people, if the signals sent by the owners are very confused and very inconsistent. 

Is that common?  Not in my limited experience.

But do pecking orders exist? Damn right they do. 

Anyone who denies the obvious, which can be seen across the animal Kingdom, is an idiot.