Pecking order questions

[Goldenlaced_keeper]

Hey guys this is just a quick questiin or discussion on the behavior and pexking order dynamics amongst my flock. No problems or emergencies. Just something i noticed. So my barred rock is the queen hen of the flock. She eats first. She stands on the food. And she always lets my welsummer (bottom hen) know. When they eat the queen will shoot her stares and also a quick poke on the back or face. She will go as so far as to grab the welsummer by the scruff of her neck and pull her around. The welsummer doesbt seem deterred. Sometimes she will squawck very dramatic and pretend its so awful only to go back to what she was doing to piss off the queen. Anyways i noticed tbere was one bird (a polish)t hat the queen never gave any correctiions to. She never so much as gives her a look while eating. Even so much as just lets her do whatever she wants. And yesterday while everyone was eating it happened. The polush grabbed the queen by the neck just like the queen does to the welsummer. And started pulling her around. It was literally the same sort of correctulions as i had been observing between the other two only it was now happening to the head chicken by a different one. So is this my polish "challenging the head hen" am i wrong and the polish has been head hen this whole time because she never EVER gets any kind of pecks or corrections by the others. Any weird behavior you all had seen in your flock pertaining to the heirarchy

 

[sourland]

If the barred rock backed down, I am guessing that the Polish is in charge.

 

[MamaPoult]

Good for the polish!! that's awesome! Maybe the queen hen least expected the polish to do that therefor payed no mind to her. Otherwise the comment above!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Pecking order often isn't linear and is fluid and constantly changing as well. What was a bottom ranked bird in my flock has now risen to the top of the rankings (likely "co-head" with another bird), and the hen that was the undisputed top bird for many years is now near the bottom. Every so often I see a kerfuffle where birds are challenging one another. Just how chickens work.

 

[Goldenlaced_keeper]

Thanks everyone! This is the 3 in question. Polish is laying atm