We recently branched out to chickens (they smell a lot worse than bees); got 4 Rhode Island Reds one week ago. The chickens seem to be doing well, active, not panting, not shivering, seem very inquisitive and are growing. This is my question. Most times when I look into the cage, it seems that 3 chickens are standing and walking around and one is sitting (looks comfortable). My concern is that the same chicken is always sitting (they are all too similar at this point for me to tell the difference). Should I be concerned that one check always seems to be sitting down (could it be hurt etc)? I do not see anything externally wrong with the chicken. Have they already started to create their pecking order?
Thanks,
John