Dominance Relations between Different Breeds of Domestic Hens

Abstract

The dominance relations of mature hens of the following 7 breeds were observed in 12 flocks: White Leghorn, Brown Red Game, R. Is. Red, White Wyandotte, Brown Leghorn, Light Brahma, and White Cochin Bantam. The White Leghorns were the most dominant of the tested hens, the White Cochin Bantams the least; the behavior of the intermediate breeds were less clear cut, and some overlapping of their dominance scores existed. 834 decisive initial encounters were staged between hens of the different breeds which were strangers to each other. The agreement between dominance in flocks and dominance in initial pair contacts had statistical validity for 17 of the 21 comparisons. Known factors did not fully account for observed differences in dominance between hens of different breeds., These breed differences are probably based on genetic factors. Hens of the same breed were obtained from the same source and were presumably of the same strain. Hence, any genetic differences can be interpreted only as strain differences and are not necessarily typical of the breeds in general.