Are my chickens playing or acting aggressively?

[dzdork]

I have 3 chickens, 3 ages. The youngest is a mis of RIR and something else. She is about 10 weeks old. The middle child is around 22 weeks old. She's a mix of RIR & Ameraucana. The hen is about 34 weeks old. They all stay close together, but the 2 younger ones sleep together and seem to stay closer to each other. Now, during the day, the 2 younger ones fly up at each other. They don't seem agitated and often do this and then carry on with scratching or whatever they were doing. It looks funny. Is this playful behavior or are they asserting themselves?

 

[noodleroo]

They are asserting themselves but its just to establish pecking order. Its not really aggression; they're just sorting everything out...

 

[gryeyes]

What noodleroo said.

 

[dzdork]

Thank you!

 

[woodmort]

They're playing "chicken" you should see it when there are a couple dozen chickens of the same age running at each other. It's like a big game of bumper cars.