BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Incubating & Hatching Eggs › The chicks I hatched seem overly aggressive.. or is it just my imagination?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The chicks I hatched seem overly aggressive.. or is it just my imagination?

post #1 of 4
5/13/12 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 

I hatched out chickens in mid February.  I have 14 left, three roosters and eleven hens.  The father was a big rooster, he's in my avatar, he had attitude problems here and there but by the time he was killed by a predator he had mellowed out, we hadn't tangoed in months.   I miss the big guy and was hoping to replace my rooster with one of his son's.. to keep the blood line going.  Well, they are really aggressive it seems.. at 9 weeks old they want to fight with me.  They will stand their ground when I try to herd them in at night.  The other chicks I got from the feed store are much more mellow..  Is there something that will cause aggression in chicks?  or is there anything you can do to reduce aggression?  They all lived under a red heat lamp for the first 6 weeks.

chickens, turkeys and guineas 

Reply

chickens, turkeys and guineas 

Reply

Featured Stories on BackYard Chickens

The Basics Of Raising Chickens - Raising Chickens 101
Why Join BackYard Chickens?
Join Our 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long
post #2 of 4
5/13/12 at 1:01pm

Could they possibly be hungry?  I think when chickens are hungry their agression goes up.  

 

It would be alarming if at this young age they are not fearful of you when you go to herd them in.  Could you coax them with something

like----> treats, scratch, sunflower seeds, bread. lettuce---Throw it where you want them to go and see if they run after it.  

 

Good luck with the chicks.

"Was dich nicht umwirft, macht dich starker"   "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."-Friedrich Nietzsche 
My new tag line...added to the end of every sentence--->  "...... after all, they ARE chickens!!!"

 

Here's a link to my BYC page:  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chickats-page

Here's a link to my BYC blog of sorts http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/jottings

 

 

Reply

"Was dich nicht umwirft, macht dich starker"   "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."-Friedrich Nietzsche 
My new tag line...added to the end of every sentence--->  "...... after all, they ARE chickens!!!"

 

Here's a link to my BYC page:  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chickats-page

Here's a link to my BYC blog of sorts http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/jottings

 

 

Reply
post #3 of 4
5/13/12 at 1:32pm
I've noticed a difference in my hatchery chicks and my home hatched chicks. The home hatched chicks are stronger and even at 4 weeks I see a difference in them. I bet a chicken hatched chick is better yet.
Hens: 16 Leghorns or California Whites, 5 Trader Joe's Leghorns, 14 Red Stars or Gold Stars, 10 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Rhodes Island Reds, 4 Silver Laced Wyandotes, 4 Ameraucana, 7 Barred Rock, 1 Silver Laced Wyandote X Barred Rock, 1 Leghorn X Barred Rock. = 64 Hens - chicks 23 hatched on 3/15
Roosters: 1 Trader Joe's Leghorn Rooster, 1 Leghorn X Barred Rock Rooster
Nursing Home hatch-a-long
http:/...
Reply
Hens: 16 Leghorns or California Whites, 5 Trader Joe's Leghorns, 14 Red Stars or Gold Stars, 10 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Rhodes Island Reds, 4 Silver Laced Wyandotes, 4 Ameraucana, 7 Barred Rock, 1 Silver Laced Wyandote X Barred Rock, 1 Leghorn X Barred Rock. = 64 Hens - chicks 23 hatched on 3/15
Roosters: 1 Trader Joe's Leghorn Rooster, 1 Leghorn X Barred Rock Rooster
Nursing Home hatch-a-long
http:/...
Reply
post #4 of 4
5/13/12 at 1:59pm

Sounds like they are starting to take on responsibility as protectors of the hens. I would be less aggressive in the "herding" & try calling them in with treats instead. Sounds like your roos are thinking you may hurt their hens.

Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Incubating & Hatching Eggs

Featured Stories on BackYard Chickens

The Basics Of Raising Chickens - Raising Chickens 101
Why Join BackYard Chickens?
Join Our 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long
BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Incubating & Hatching Eggs › The chicks I hatched seem overly aggressive.. or is it just my imagination?