Do hens fight?

[SecretHavenFarm]

I have 13 silkies, I am not sure on the sex of all of them yet. I know one is a rooster, he a older than the rest and has started to crow.

I have a few of them fighting, not fighting all day long but once in a while they will do the jump up and down thing with each other. Do hens do this too? or are my other two guys roosters?

 

[canada-goose]

Hens fight too.

 

[JaciesCoop]

Hens will definitely argue. That is how the establish their pecking order.

 

[SecretHavenFarm]

Oh ok. I knew they would squabble and such, I just didnt know if they would fight like the roosters do, were they jump up and down and fight.

 

[cybercat]

Mine do the chest bump like the beer comerical of the guys. Funny as all to watch them do it. After that a couple of times one will chase the other. so Yes they fight and argue just like any family.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Exactly.

 

[emvickrey]

Yes, they do. I have one that I had to ask a few people to give me their thoughts on if she was actually a he. She is completely black form head to toe and I go by the comb and neck feathers. She looked like a she to me but when I put her with a new roo I got just for her she kicked his butt. So I tried another one, she did the same so I tried the last one and still the same. She fought like a rooster would. So I thought maybe I was wrong and got some advice and sure enough, she is a she. She just didn't want another mate. She earned her name then too. Tyson after the fighter not the chicken factory. Then this morning there was a commotion going on in the coop and it was a hen fight. Feathers everywhere.

 

[mdbokc]

They get after each other. The worst I have personally seen is one hen on top of another with her beak around the back of the neck of the bottom gal. Looked like the loser got into the other scratching space of the winner was the cause of the disturbance but who knows....

 

[thequeenofhens]

Hens do fight I have two 17 and a half week chickens and one of them seems to want to be the boss and the other is now wanting to be the boss, i saw this on a different site and it said that if you don't have a rooster one hen will act like one not crowing but being the boss and that a rooster will break up a fight, but I'm not to sure cause I am only new to chickens

but hens do fight (sorry for the long text)

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Yes, hens will "fight" -- this is the establishment of, maintenance of, challenging of, etc the pecking order within the flock -- even something as simple as a lower chicken "forgetting herself" for a moment and attempting to gain a tidbit near a higher hen is grounds for a quick reminder of that chicken's place in the order of things, or if someone starts getting ideas about trying to move up the chain of command, etc. Other factors that often lead to squabbling are overcrowding, boredom, etc.
The presence or absence of a rooster really does not impact this inner-squabbling by the hens as he is just one part of the pecking order - additionally, if the rooster that is present is immature or lacks confidence/has not gained the respect of the hens he is viewed as far below them in the order of things and has no sway over the social order at all.