The Peck Order

My chicks are about 6 weeks old now and I wonder who will be at the top of the pecking order.  According to Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, by about 6 weeks of age, chicks will begin to establish their place in the order.  This governs a flock's social organization and thus reduces tension and stress.  The peck order involves a complex hierarchy on three levels:  among all the males, among all the females, and between the males and the females.  In general the cocks are at the top of the order, then hens, then cockerels, and finally pullets, although cockerels will work their way through the hens as they mature and similarly, maturing pullets will work their way up the ladder.  A new bird added to the flock must also work its way up but won't necessarily start at the bottom.  The picture was taken late in the evening when the chicks went to roost.

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