Are Wyandottes (Silver laced) typically aggressive birds?

[Sunshyne276]

I'm very disappointmented with my two Silver Lace Wyandottes.

They came with the flock, when I got them a few weeks or so back.

They have been the most aggressive, even more so than the Barred rock,
and she had been at the top of the pecking order.
These two go after other birds..
One of them had tried to EAT my duck alive not too long ago.

Then, today, the same one one tried to peck my chicks to death.
They are maybe 7 weeks old or so.. The chicks, not the Wyandottes. lol
Anyway, I don't let the chicks out with the bigger hens usually.
I occasionally let them "free range" for short periods while i'm w/them,
and while the bigger chickens are still in their run.
But, I figured it wouldn't hurt to let them out in a small area,
while I clean their cage.

That Wyandotte kept fighting to get to them, so she could attack them (pecking/biting).
Had to lock her in the pen, just to let the lil ones have some peace.
The other big hens weren't out to hurt them.
A little peck from one, when the chicks would get too close, that's it.

Then, the other Wyandotte started doing the same thing!

Is this a Wyandotte trait, or am I just unlucky? lol

I may build a very small coop and run for these two girls,
if they are going to be so aggressive.

 

[justtoni44]

Hi, I have 1 roo and 4 hens..................the roo is awful....going to start calling him crock pot
cause that is where he will go.but my hens are very nice.........
Good Luck

 

[dirtsaver]

Sasha being newbies to chickens(we grew up around them on the farm as kids 40 years ago,but that was then)I can only relate our experiences with them. To start,we bought 6 Australorps and 6 Buff Orpingtons(baby chicks). We lost one of the Buffs within a weeks time. We really wanted at least a dozen birds so Eva bought 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes (2-3 day old) chicks. All our chicks were raised in the house,handled several times a day,hand feed at least once a day...you know the drill. The SLWs were always a lot more aloof and skittish. The other chicks never seemed to accept them either. Once we moved the chicks to the outside coop at 8 weeks we continued to maintain close contact with them, including hand-feeding them treats(wheat bread is their favorite!) The SLWs just never tamed down and always were picking at all the others and would never take treats from our hands. Strangely enough,both the SLWs are at the very bottom of the pecking order!

Now they are all at the 20-21 week stage,several of the Australorps and Buffs have been laying for over a week now and are becoming more sweet pets than before. One of the Wyandottes has finally started to take bread form my hand,the other will not get close. Neither of them really seems to be part of the flock(in the clique) but the one that eats from my hand will let me pet her at night on the roost. Maybe she's coming around?

It's really hard to understand how chickens so close in age (maybe 5 days) and raised together and treated the same could be so different unless it's due to breed traits.

Just our experience and maybe there's some small thread of information there to help you.

Larry

 

[Morgan7782]

I have heard of bad luck with hatchery Wyandottes. I have heard a few stories and tips to avoid them and that they seem to be meaner then the rest. I have two Wyandotte pullets now, one blue and one splash. The blue is stand offish, but not a bully. The splash is the sweetest bird we own at the moment. Both are hatchery birds. My Barred Rock is definately ruler of the roost, and both the Wyandottes respect her.

 

[Crack N' Egg]

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your SLW. I have a SLW Roo who is huge. He is aggressive, but acceptably aggressive. The hens are up there in the pecking order, but they are not as aggressive as yours. But they do go after the 12 wk olds, but not for blood...at least not yet!

Good luck and I hope they settle down!

 

[SB Austex]

No long history here either but I have three 12-week old Wyandottes from hatchery stock. Two are GLW's and one is a blue.

- One of the GLW's is my favorite, the most calm when I pick her up. (I try to pick up each of my eight at least once every few days.) She is also the most likely to hang around me once they've figured out I don't have treats.

- The other GLW is looking like probably a roo is a little more aggressive with me than the rest -- more likely to try and give me a solid peck when I pick him up or other misc times when my hands are down on their level. I give her/him a quick tap in the chest and no more trouble (so far). Is not particularly aggressive with the others and not at the top of the pecking order.

- Little Blue is pretty calm and sweet, but a little aloof from both me and the other chooks.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

ours are very mellow and we even let the adult SLW roosters free-range with the young birds..... they don't bother them at all.

 

[GeeVee]

that is too bad, i hope they mellow out!
i have 1 SLW hen who is 3 or 4 years old, and is at the very bottom of the pecking order! she is shy, stand offish, and submissive. sounds like the opposite of yours, i wonder why?

 

[Chick'nlove]

My two SLWs are at the bottom of the pecking order, poor things. Dorothy and Gloria are wonderful...I have 13 total. I hope yours mellow out!

 

[henney penny]

When I studyed up on the slw it said that they were more aggresive than most breeds so I didn`t bother getting any as I wanted buff orpingtons and they are timid and shy and I knew they would get picked on by the slw.