3 week olds with bloody combs and wattles.

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

I definitely can if needed. I’d love to have some eggs like that.

Did yours ever stop? Or did it continue through to adulthood?

Funny thing, the Penciled Plymouth Rock was half their size and top chick. At 13 months they don't spar but jump on other pullets I have added to the flock. I call Charolotte "Mean Charolette." But they take turns being mean. BUT they always come sit on the chair with me. Dottie talks to me all the time. When you see the first egg you will be a bit more forgiving, They are the girls on my profile pic.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Three dark eggs. I will add they are the first to sense trouble and warn the flock.

 

[FreedomFarm13]

I've had BCMs before, and they were really sweet, all except for one roo who was a bit of a prick to his girls, and jumped on my then 1-2 year old daughter. He went in the stew pot. But all other boys and girls I had were gentle and sweet as can be to chickens and humans alike.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

We had some BBS Marans before. They were all raised from chicks and never this scrappy. Even the Roos. I’ll definitely still grow them all out (unless they attack people) but it does give me pause.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting. I once kept 28 chicks, mostly pullets, in a 3' x 5' brooder until they were 5 weeks old. Another time I had 21 chicks, mostly cockerels, in that same brooder. All full sized chicks. In both cases they were starting to look crowded but had not started to act up. I don't know how many boys you have versus girls but sex can make a difference in room requirements. In square feet those brooders are pretty equivalent.

Some chicks are just more rambunctious than others. I don't think it's that much breed related. Mine are mostly a barnyard mix and some years the boys are a lot rowdier than others.

The main reason I'm posting is that you had three different boys bleeding. That doesn't sound right. One year I had a two-week-old chick (turned out to be a boy) kill a sibling. They were being raised by a broody, for what that's worth. That chick started pecking at a siblings head until it killed it. Then it started pecking another chick's head. That chick just stood there and let it. Mama did nothing to stop it. That's where I noticed what was going on. It's possible one of your boys is kind of homicidal. If you can you might want to see if it is just one chick doing that.

 

[3KillerBs]

I love Marans but we like calm, gentle, chickens more.

I don't have a Marans boy (I do have an Australorp x Marans cockerel), but my French Cuckoo Marans girls are some of the calmest birds in the flock.

 

[FreedomFarm13]

Interesting. I once kept 28 chicks, mostly pullets, in a 3' x 5' brooder until they were 5 weeks old. Another time I had 21 chicks, mostly cockerels, in that same brooder. All full sized chicks. In both cases they were starting to look crowded but had not started to act up. I don't know how many boys you have versus girls but sex can make a difference in room requirements. In square feet those brooders are pretty equivalent.

Some chicks are just more rambunctious than others. I don't think it's that much breed related. Mine are mostly a barnyard mix and some years the boys are a lot rowdier than others.

The main reason I'm posting is that you had three different boys bleeding. That doesn't sound right. One year I had a two-week-old chick (turned out to be a boy) kill a sibling. They were being raised by a broody, for what that's worth. That chick started pecking at a siblings head until it killed it. Then it started pecking another chick's head. That chick just stood there and let it. Mama did nothing to stop it. That's where I noticed what was going on. It's possible one of your boys is kind of homicidal. If you can you might want to see if it is just one chick doing that.

Yeah, good point. I've had a homicidal chick before. It was actually a pullet, turns out. Some birds just aren't right in the head, I guess.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Interesting. I once kept 28 chicks, mostly pullets, in a 3' x 5' brooder until they were 5 weeks old. Another time I had 21 chicks, mostly cockerels, in that same brooder. All full sized chicks. In both cases they were starting to look crowded but had not started to act up. I don't know how many boys you have versus girls but sex can make a difference in room requirements. In square feet those brooders are pretty equivalent.

Some chicks are just more rambunctious than others. I don't think it's that much breed related. Mine are mostly a barnyard mix and some years the boys are a lot rowdier than others.

The main reason I'm posting is that you had three different boys bleeding. That doesn't sound right. One year I had a two-week-old chick (turned out to be a boy) kill a sibling. They were being raised by a broody, for what that's worth. That chick started pecking at a siblings head until it killed it. Then it started pecking another chick's head. That chick just stood there and let it. Mama did nothing to stop it. That's where I noticed what was going on. It's possible one of your boys is kind of homicidal. If you can you might want to see if it is just one chick doing that.

WOW! That's incredible about that chick. Thank you for bringing it up. It never occurred to me it might be one chick doing all that damage. I'll spend extra time with them tomorrow observing. Today the wounds were fresh. By tomorrow I should be able to tell if its still ongoing or the extra space put a stop to it (for now).

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Yeah, good point. I've had a homicidal chick before. It was actually a pullet, turns out. Some birds just aren't right in the head, I guess.

Yikes! You too? I'd never heard of this before.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Netting is up! Not before running to Tractor Supply and picking some up. Only to come home and find the exact same netting in our garage when looking for something else, oops. At least its done and the chicks can have the whole run now. Their favorite part is taking tiny little dirt baths. So cute.