Aggressive Chicks

[Jester57]

Has anyone ever seen really aggressive baby chicks? Mine are about 2 weeks old and every time I put my hand in the brooder they totally attack it to the point they’re starting to break the skin. The biggest chick is now attacking all of the smaller chicks, except for the next two biggest. They were out in the run yesterday when they spotted a mouse and, you’re going to think this is crazy, but the big three started to hunt the mouse. They caught him, but I honestly couldn’t watch the rest.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Has anyone ever seen really aggressive baby chicks? Mine are about 2 weeks old and every time I put my hand in the brooder they totally attack it to the point they’re starting to break the skin. The biggest chick is now attacking all of the smaller chicks, except for the next two biggest. They were out in the run yesterday when they spotted a mouse and, you’re going to think this is crazy, but the big three started to hunt the mouse. They caught him, but I honestly couldn’t watch the rest.

I havent raised chicks, only ducklings, but I'm not terribly surprised at the hunting behaviour-I've heard of chickens going after frogs and all sorts before.
It does sound brutal though and you definitely dont want the smaller chicks getting hurt. Perhaps you could separate them temporarily.

Could you post a photo of their set up, how many chicks are there, and what are you feeding them? How often do they eat? What is the protein of their feed?

I'm pretty curious about this. Hopefully someone more experienced will jump online soon to give you advice.

 

[Jester57]

I bought the chicks from an animal park that’s about an hour south of here. The park’s owner, Joe Razik, said these were a special breed that he‘d been working on for years and he wanted to see how they’d do in people’s backyards. I’ve been trying to call him for days, but he isn’t picking up. The website for Joe Razik’s Park isn’t saying anything either.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I bought the chicks from an animal park that’s about an hour south of here. The park’s owner, Joe Razik, said these were a special breed that he‘d been working on for years and he wanted to see how they’d do in people’s backyards. I’ve been trying to call him for days, but he isn’t picking up. The website for Joe Razik’s Park isn’t saying anything either.

that sounds a little weird, photo of the chicks and brooder?
How many chicks do you have and what are you feeding them?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have one that was a bit aggressive as a chick. As soon as it dried and fluffed up, this one would peck me anytime my hand was in the brooder. He is now going on 2 years old and an amazing rooster. I gave him his space as a chick and tried to be as hands off as possible. If he was pecking the blood out of my hand, I would probably get a squirt bottle with a straight stream and anytime this chick does this, immediately spray him. You don't want a time lapse in between the bites and spraying him or the chick won't associate the two together. I'd be a little worried and definitely consider options, like you're doing. I wish you the best

I should add that my bird is a very nervous one. I strongly believe that he acted like this out of being extremely nervous. He has never been aggressive at all as a full grown bird and this is one of the few that I am completely confident won't be aggressive to me. He is still very nervous and doesn't enjoy being held, but he tolerates it.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

If you could post some pictures, I'm sure someone will be able to help in identifying your problematic birds. I have had a couple of chicks that would bite the blood out of me but they were always a little older chicks. This always improved with increasing their living space. So short of knowing the breed, in MY personal experience, I've experienced this in one nervous bird and again a couple of times when the bird was needing more living space.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have one that was a bit aggressive as a chick. As soon as it dried and fluffed up, this one would peck me anytime my hand was in the brooder. He is now going on 2 years old and an amazing rooster. I gave him his space as a chick and tried to be as hands off as possible. If he was pecking the blood out of my hand, I would probably get a squirt bottle with a straight stream and anytime this chick does this, immediately spray him. You don't want a time lapse in between the bites and spraying him or the chick won't associate the two together. I'd be a little worried and definitely consider options, like you're doing. I wish you the best

I should add that my bird is a very nervous one. I strongly believe that he acted like this out of being extremely nervous. He has never been aggressive at all as a full grown bird and this is one of the few that I am completely confident won't be aggressive to me. He is still very nervous and doesn't enjoy being held, but he tolerates it.

it's hard to know what goes on in an animals mind-but I doubt its anything aggressive at this age. Perhaps fear, or something deeper we cant quite see.
When my ducklings were introduced, the older being 4 days and the younger being a few hours old- there was a little pecking back and forth, they had to figure eachother out. Anything too rough, I would lightly touch their back, with just one or two fingers. A gentle reminder- within 24 hours they were best buds, snuggling up together under the heater. Obviously wasnt aggression, but that method definitely worked for me. In your situation, the squirt bottle definitely makes sense.

I would be interested to know what kind of space the chicks have, though. Anything that could contribute to this behaviour, perhaps overcrowding, boredom?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

it's hard to know what goes on in an animals mind-but I doubt its anything aggressive at this age. Perhaps fear, or something deeper we cant quite see.
When my ducklings were introduced, the older being 4 days and the younger being a few hours old- there was a little pecking back and forth, they had to figure eachother out. Anything too rough, I would lightly touch their back, with just one or two fingers. A gentle reminder- within 24 hours they were best buds, snuggling up together under the heater. Obviously wasnt aggression, but that method definitely worked for me. In your situation, the squirt bottle definitely makes sense.

I would be interested to know what kind of space the chicks have, though. Anything that could contribute to this behaviour, perhaps overcrowding, boredom?

I don't think my chick was aggressive but he was acting aggressively. I'm confident he was acting like this out of fear since he is nervous. He was hatched here and acted like that straight out of the incubator. Too bad I didn't record this. I haven't ever had any of my ducklings act anything like this.

 

[Jester57]

They look a lot like this…

 

[Jester57]

Don’t buy your chickens from Joe Razik’s Park. Oh, and have a nice April Fools.