16 week cockerel behavior questions

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know what else it could be besides the fact that my other breeds are perfectly fine and don't exhibit any of the behaviors these 5 do. They have been like this since they were chicks; they are all about 18 months old.

I agree with Wrathsfarm, I do not think it is a breed thing. If you read enough posts on here you will find some of any breed (Marans, Silkies, or Orpington to mention a few) are absolute sweethearts or absolute terrors. Each chicken has its individual personality and can feed off of the personalities of the other chickens in the flock.

I do however believe individual strains of any breed can have certain traits. I am not talking about every Black Copper Marans on the planet as a strain. A strain can be one specific flock that has been bred a certain way to have certain traits, whether accidentally or on purpose. Some flocks of BCM may lay dark chocolate eggs, others eggs may be much lighter. Some hens of one strain may go broody a lot, some hardly ever. That is differences in individual strains, not a flockwide trait and can include personality traits.

I suggest solving for peace in the flock. If you are unhappy with those five, get rid of them. If you decide to try Marans in the future, get them from a different source.

 

[ChickenB12]

I agree with Wrathsfarm, I do not think it is a breed thing. If you read enough posts on here you will find some of any breed (Marans, Silkies, or Orpington to mention a few) are absolute sweethearts or absolute terrors. Each chicken has its individual personality and can feed off of the personalities of the other chickens in the flock.

I do however believe individual strains of any breed can have certain traits. I am not talking about every Black Copper Marans on the planet as a strain. A strain can be one specific flock that has been bred a certain way to have certain traits, whether accidentally or on purpose. Some flocks of BCM may lay dark chocolate eggs, others eggs may be much lighter. Some hens of one strain may go broody a lot, some hardly ever. That is differences in individual strains, not a flockwide trait and can include personality traits.

I suggest solving for peace in the flock. If you are unhappy with those five, get rid of them. If you decide to try Marans in the future, get them from a different source.

Thank you so much for your very detailed responses. I am hopeful that my Roo will come into his own. He has a good personality with the pullets I got him with and he is skittish with me but friendly its just those 5 girls.

I don't want to write off the breed totally, but I do think I am going to take a break from them before I try again. One of the five is very sweet to me but rude to everyone else, so I can see where they would be good girls. We will see.

Thank you all again! <3