What exactly determines who ends up as the lead/dominant chicken in a coop? I ask because I just watched an interesting confrontation. I introduced my batch of six week old chicks to the group of nine weekers (nine week olds have been living in coop since they were four weeks) over the course of a week. The younger ones were confined in a big dog crate. I only just let them out and things have been fine. Yesterday was their first day of total freedom and from dawn 'til dusk I was doing regular checks to make sure things didn't turn vicious. But today, I saw one of the nine week old cockerels take a running start at a six week old (who I KNOW is a roo) with a fluffed neck. Well, the six weeker, who is about 1/2 the size of the older one, did not back down and they have a chest bump/boxing match/scuffle. And the little one was victorious, sending the other one fleeing. I just thought it was kinda funny this smaller bird kicking the older one's butt.
whoever is the meanest. being raised together i doubt that will get really serious but boys will be boys and they will scuffle from time to time to see who is tougher and who breeds first. i get a kick out of watching my outside roos (read freezer camp trainees with an extra helping of cracked corn diet) face off with my 2 breeders in with my hens. stare each other down with ruffled neck feathers. try to attack each other through the fence. while the 2 inside almost never scuffle and the ones on the outside almost never scuffle. go figure, it's always the guys on the other side of the fence you want to pick a fight with lol.
It's not always the Biggest & Baddest that makes top chicken, either. Sometimes bantam chickens can have higher rank than large fowl chickens. It's all about the 'tude, dude.
