Pecking! Not all pecks are equal.

Very informative! Thank you. I have one 7 month old hen that is pecking my leg. She is firm and does it when I stop to work in the open range or in the run. She will do it when I first enter to when I am wandering the run or range. She used to just peck my husband now she pecks us both. Not sure what she is communicating. Maybe she’s just curious.

very informative observations. I have a question though. 2 of my new hens, bought as pullets from a co -op do not seem to know how to open their beaks to pick up sunflower seeds. They just peck furiously hard with their beaks closed. My other hens know how to gently and productively pick up seeds off the ground or from my hand. Why do these new hens not know how and how can I help them?

Thanks great information.

Excellent synopsis. Thank you.

Good information.

Very helpful! If you can't understand what your birds are saying, you can't respond appropriately. Well done! I feel enlightened.

I love how you explain your observations; they are considered and thoughtful. You care about your chickens and want to know more about them so that you can provide them with quality care and allow them to live their best chicken life. Understanding the different pecks so that you don’t ‘cull due to aggression’ means that the cockerel/rooster gets to live doing what they do best. You are a fountain of knowledge, thank you for sharing.

I started reading about chickens to understand better my quails because I couldn't find relevant articles in greek, and even though are different birds, this and other articles like this, guide me on what to pay attention to. I am so sorry I can't have chickens like my grandmother. Thank you.

A tender topic approached with patient observation and articulate rendering. My heart melted at “The Stroke”.

Excellent and clear observations shared in a thoughtful and compassionate way. I’m looking forward to reading this as I watch my chickens and using it to get better at understanding their behavior.

I want to be like @Shadrach when I grow up! Your compassionate approach, observations, and links have benefitted my flock and given me permission to respect and enjoy these creatures on a deeper level.

We have a cockerel many might've culled who now faithfully escorts his first laying pullets to nesting boxes. Thank you to people like Shadrach for sharing different understandings of "aggression" and clues to how human intervention can instigate or interrupt chicken behavior. I have a lot to learn but am seeing the most success combining research with instinct and observation.

This article caught my eye because many think pecking just equals aggression, but my gut rejects that. This is great insight into the complexity of pecking as constructive communication.

Great article

i thought pecking just always equalled either fighting or eating, thank you for this interesting well researched article!

I am impressed by the research and testing attempted. They are a high quality effort, even if down played by OP. I would like to eventually agreed with more of this data shared but, given my personal learning curve is still just beginning- I'm noticably lacking long term datum...

I always like reading about other people’s experiences with their own chickens, it’s also a good way to gauge if your chickens are “normal”. Thanks for the article!

I had never really thought about the different types of pecks until I read this article. I look forward to observing my hens more closely with these ideas in mind and seeing what I can learn about chicken psychology.

Having observed my chickens for several years I knew they pecked with different amounts of force but I never paid attention to all of the different types of pecks. The author does an excellent job of explaining the characteristics of each pecking type. So much so that I can immediately recall seeing some of the same behaviors in my flock. I will be watching closer now and I expect I will better understand my flocks behavior even more moving forward.

I love it when an article goes in depth and teaches me something new. This one surely did that! Fascinating!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and learned a lot about the way my flocks interact with me and with their flockmates. I am still wondering what the meaning is behind the scrape. Several of my pullets do this to my palm when I am handfeeding them. Are they just looking for the good stuff or is there a deeper meaning behind this? Thank you for a wonderful article!

I didn't realize they had all those sensations in their beaks.