Fun thing I've noticed, all hens responding to chick distress calls

[BeanieBabies]

I've got my teen mum hen in a look but don't touch partition inside my chicken run with her chicks. Occasionally, for various reasons but mostly her inability to get all her babies up the ramp into her coop itself (a problem that she has figured out as of last night! I'm very proud of her), I have had to step in and pick up a chick and pop her in the coop with her mama. Nobody is happy when I do this, and the chick kicks up a MIGHTY fuss about it, big old baby 'help me' yells.

The fun part is, even the other two hens respond to this, even the girl who isn't laying yet and has a tendency to follow and peck the chicks.

One of my hens flew from her free-ranging position across half of my not-small suburban yard OVER the run's fence and straight next to the partition, in order to scold me.

I expect this behaviour from the mum, but from the other hens as well absolutely delights me.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Flock animals will normally all respond when any flock member is in distress.

 

[BeanieBabies]

Does this mean that my girl who keeps being overly curious with her beak at the chicks still does view them as flock?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Unless it is a hen or bird that has brooded the chicks, the others will take time accepting chicks into the fllock. Once accepted as flock mates, it is rare for a bird to become ostracized, but t happens.
The pecking usually happens just to let them know who's boss. At least till they grow up and one or more challenges for hierarchy.
There will always be a 'pecking' order in a flock. No pun intended. That is actually where the term originates.

 

[BeanieBabies]

Of course, mostly I'm just curious about flock dynamics, how behaviour changes after accepting new flock members, the delight that is all the flock responding to any and all distress from anyone else, how incredibly community-based and cooperative chickens are even at the same time that they steal food from each other and bully each other into hierarchy, it's fascinating and incredible.