Aggressive Buff Orpington

[Olive_Egger]

For some background info, I'm trying out raising backyard chickens to see how it goes. I have 6 chicks, all but two are different breeds. I have an Araucana, ISA Brown, Olive Egger, 2 Light Brahmas, and of course, a Buff Orpington.

My chicks are only about a month old so I don't know if I should be worrying about this, but my Buff Orpington is extremely aggressive. Everything I've read about the breed says they should be very calm and not at all what my Orpington is currently displaying. The chick will, unprovoked, run across her enclosure to attack another chicken, often causing the chicken to cry out and run away. I've noticed her especially doing this with our runt. None of our other chickens are doing this, and they don't seem to have a distinguished pecking order at all yet.

As a new chicken owner, I'm very perplexed and I cannot seem to figure out the cause for her aggressive behavior. Any answers/advice would be appreciated!

 

[BlueBaby]

Are you sure that it's not a boy?

 

[Sally PB]

I had three straight run BOs. They all ended up being cockerels. I had to cull two at 4 months; hormones turned them into unholy terrors to the pullets and me.

The remaining guy (now a 14 month old roo) is ... on thin ice. If I get a cockerel in my new batch of chicks, his days may be numbered.

Just like when a certain breed of puppy gets really popular and the mills turn them out by the thousands, I feel like BOs got really popular last year and hatcheries were turning them out as fast as possible. I don't know this for a fact, but I have heard lots of people say they were disappointed in the temperament of their BOs.

 

[aart]

My chicks are only about a month old so I don't know if I should be worrying about this, but my Buff Orpington is extremely aggressive.

The chick will, unprovoked, run across her enclosure to attack another chicken, often causing the chicken to cry out and run away. I've noticed her especially doing this with our runt.

Not fun, eh, @Olive_Egger ?
Chickens can be brutal.
Pics of the chicks and their enclosure would help immensely here.

 

[Olive_Egger]

Not fun, eh, @Olive_Egger ?
Chickens can be brutal.
Pics of the chicks and their enclosure would help immensely here.

Their enclosure is in dire need of cleaning, but this is it. (Our Buff Orpington is aggressive regardless of how clean the enclosure is.)

 

[Olive_Egger]

Are you sure that it's not a boy?

They're all supposed to be female, but at this point I'm not 100% sure.

 

[sourland]

Someone has to be 'Boss' and she's is applying for the position. The chicken social order can be unkind.

 

[aart]

Their enclosure is in dire need of cleaning, but this is it. (Our Buff Orpington is aggressive regardless of how clean the enclosure is.)

Dirty doesn't matter to them, but amount of space can.
The bin and box may be taking up floor space that might give them more room to move.
Change things up in there.

Can't see the birds well enough to know genders.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
I agree with @aart , more space and pictures of your little terror, side view and head.
Each bird is an individual, not a clone of perfection. And unless temperament is considered in selecting breeders, anything goes. Chickens can be pretty tough on each other.
Mary

 

[Sierra G]

Dirty doesn't matter to them, but amount of space can.
The bin and box may be taking up floor space that might give them more room to move.
Change things up in there.

Can't see the birds well enough to know genders.

They seem well feathered too. I'm not sure you still need the brooder unless their nighttime enclosure temperature falls below 50-55°. If you remove the bigger items, put some smaller items in to break up sight lines, add some obstacles to slow pursuit when being chased, and offer hiding spaces with multiple entrances/exits to give a girl a place to hide without getting cornered if the BO is being a Big B.