Chickens Pecking Order in the Homesteading Chicken Coop

Chickens Pecking Order in the Homesteading Chicken Coop is a confusing yet interesting matriarchal cultural support system that may contain a rooster but the homesteader must be in charge.

The chicken is one with many that requires a hierarchy to control the flock. The social control is the pecking order to them, where they decide on the social dynamics and the status of every chicken to what they do. This is an influence on what chickens do including feeding, drinking, egg laying, roosting, and mating. The positions are laid down when multiple chickens compete against each other and one shows to be the strongest over others. Otherwise, if two are on equal status, a fight could go down. One can die from their injuries; homesteaders need to keep them apart and put them in cages.

The top chicken is the most strong willed that is powerful in keeping every chicken in order, stopping fights, and helping the hens. The top bird is strong willed and keeps the rest of the flock in order, breaking up fights and caring for the hens. When a human gets involved, they see it as a threat to them, so they will peck and jump to spur and attack every time they turn their back against them. If that happens, their behavior will get worse and be aggressive more.

Homesteaders have to show they are the dominant one on the land because the injuries a violent chicken can give to humans isn’t pretty.

With alpha roosters, they are the healthiest and crow to signal other chickens to get to work. They look out for predators and chase other roosters away from mating hens. Those lower in the pecking order are quiet and don’t try to breed with others when the head rooster is there. Hens are high in the pecking order because of their nesting duties and, as mothers, go after those who invade their space. The rest just bow down to them.

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