Do chickens form cliques?

[Chiggums]

I have a flock of 8 chickens averaging about 9 weeks old. 5 of the chickens have been together since almost the beginning and are as tight as can be, eating, sleeping, and playing together. The other 3 came in a little later in when everyone was around 6 weeks old and seemed to immediately flock together as the newbies of the group. Everyone gets along fine, but for the most part it seems like each group tolerates the other but they stick to their own separate cliques. Is it normal for chickens to form cliques within a flock? Will they eventually fully integrate into one seamless flock?

I'm a first time chicken mama and am still learning so much about them!

 

[Isadora]

Yes, cliques are absolutely normal.
They may or may not merge. That really just depends on the personalities in the flock.