32
to 
radically alter their personalities and even their physiques,
apparently by tilting the captives' internal chemical balance.
Biochemical resignation explains why barnyards are not a
perpetual battlefield.  Chickens seldom get into major brawls.  True,
when a stranger steps onto the scene, the intrusion triggers a riot.  But
when the dust dies down, the feathered ladies settle into a stable order.
The dominant female once again luxuriates in her prerogatives.  And
the lowliest pullet endures her ignominious lot in life.  The pecking
order's  hormonal  shifts  help  insure  this  peace.    Those  who  win  are
flush with internal chemicals of pride.  And those who lose are
numbed by glandular drugs that lull them into submission.
The irony is that even the chickens on the bottom gain an
advantage from the endogenous chemical brew that leaves them too
lethargic to fight over their fate. If pecking order positions were up for
constant grabs, each creature in the yard would have to spend her time
in attacks and self-defense.  The non-stop battle would waste every
bird's energy and time.  Well-fed chickens would grow scrawny
watching out for ambush instead of scratching in the dirt for food.
And some would do worse than merely lose weight.  They'd actually
die from their wounds.64  A long-term truce has its benefits, even if it
leaves you under everybody's heel.  At least it lets you live your life in
quiet, freeing up your time to poke around for grubs and worms.  In
the last analysis, the cocky aristocrats, the status-conscious crones in
the middle, and even the picked-on runts have a solid reason to go
with the status quo.
The struggle for position in a pecking order is not restricted to
individuals. It also hits social groups.65  There is a form of pecking
order Schjelderup-Ebbe never studied--the pecking order of
superorganisms.
On the outskirts of an Indian village lived two tribes of
langurs--lanky, curious monkeys.  It was easy to see which group had
made it to the top of the pecking order.  One langur clan had staked
out a territory in the center of town.  This group lived the life of Reilly.
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