PicoFarm
Songster
I'm not an expert on chicken behavior and "motivation" (for lack of better term). They respond to stimulus, such recognizing the face of a human they associate with providing treats. They obviously have a pecking order (who eats first, who gets the best roost, etc), which some humans find contrary with their human sensibilities/world view/preferences. Chickens are a prey species (eyes on the side of the head, not forward-facing). It's easy to anthropomorphize them because they are small, fluffy, and some are chatty.I had a RIR that was a huge bully, at one time I kept her locked up for a week, asking her to give me a reason to go into the meat grinder. she calmed down a bit after the gulag.
The comet, it's strange, she is NOT overtly aggressive, it's like they are standing there she'll say something and the little ones will run away, or she'll cluck something quietly and nip at one of the other two and they get away fast from her. It's not like she is screaming and tearing feathers out but she absolutely IS bullying them on some level with that ! She's going to stay locked up the rest of the day, she's moaning a bit over that but too bad. The others went right to being nice and friendly to me without her being able to get to them, not totally but you can tell they are acting a bit easier. I will try them again tomorrow and if this continues then it's time to haul out the timeout cage and she can spend a few days in there all by herself UNABLE to free range and be with the rest of them while they get treats and have their fun etc. However the comet is an absolute doll with me, I just don't get it. I don't want to say it's jealousy, can chickens exibit that really?
Aaron