Jeff barely managed to scrounge a few kernels of the corn tossed out by the farmer. The other hens were bigger, quicker, and stronger. He found out how much stronger when he aimed his beak for a stray kernel only for a much larger hen to charge him, squawking angrily as she did so.
This hen was at the top of the pecking order in the flock, and she had gotten there by being bigger, stronger, and more aggressive. But, due to his smaller size, Jeff was a bit more agile and managed to snap the kernel in his beak before she reached the disputed morsel.
She didn't react at all well. She took aim with a pointy beak and gave poor Jeff a couple of sharp jabs, and then she started strutting, fluffing her feathers, and squawked angrily. In case that didn't get her point across, she pecked Jeff a third time. The pecks hurt, too, and the third one snatched feathers and left a bleeding nick in the skin.
Jeff only wanted to get away and, without thinking, he let his wings help. He suddenly went airborne and flapped his way to a low branch of a tree shadowing the coop and foraging area.
Surprised, Jeff looked down at the furiously squawking hen. She flapped her own wings, but they barely helped her hop and jump around the yard. She was too heavy to truly fly.
Jeff decided to let her temper cool, but he didn't realize that he had directly challenged the hen at the top of the pecking order. She would now mark him as a challenger.
In her time ruling the roost, she has bested many opponents. She doesn't shirk from violence. It can become a bloody contest, but there can only be one top hen.