A multi-breed experimental design was used to estimate the between breed genetic variation for feather pecking and cannibalism, behavioural time budgets, and measures of fear, sociality and coping strategy in domestic fowl. Past experiments have primarily been within breed experiments or ones comparing two lines. There was a great deal of between breed (genetic) variation in feather pecking, cannibalism, and general pecking behaviour in the current study. No evident for between breed genetic variation in time budgets was found. Evidence for fear and coping strategy was slight while some measures of sociality were moderately high. Between breed genetic correlations between behavioural traits and feather score, skin score and mortality were low. Correlations between skin lesions and sociality and culling were labile. Conclusions stated that there was a strong genetic basis from damaging feather pecking and cannibalism and the behaviours were not strongly related genetically to other behavioural traits.