Head Chick

[Dstabile01]

I have 5 chickens/teenagers lol...one of my chicks is always alone...could she possibly be the head chick? If not how can you tell who the head chick is?

 

[davogels]

Are they all hens?

 

[Dstabile01]

Are they all hens?

Should be

 

[HappyClucker7]

The leader will be the one who gets to eat the best treats, and she can peck all the other chicks.

 

[davogels]

Is there one who seems to get to feed first and gets the most? My alpha hen is in charge of food and seems to dictate who gets what and when.

 

[Dstabile01]

I haven’t noticed One chick doing that?? I am new to this...I have to pay more attention

 

[davogels]

I'm really new to this too and have spent a lot of time...probably too much...just watching them. Their social structure and sounds and gestures are amazingly complex and interesting to see. My alpha has made her place pretty clear but it did take a while before I realized what was going on!

 

[davogels]

I would just keep an eye on the one who is alone to make sure she is not getting bullied or is sick/hurt. Otherwise I'm not sure but keep asking here...everyone is so great and super helpful

 

[Dstabile01]

Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

If they're still chicks (age?) their pecking order isn't going to be very set and you're likely to see a lot of fluidity in who takes the lead from one day to the next. Much easier to see who the top dog is with mature birds or at least older pullets past point of lay.