agressive chick

[pasofinofarm]

I got a couple of day old chicks about 3-4 weeka ago. I seem to have a problem with one black araucana chick. It chases the other chicks and jumps on them and stomps them with it's feet. I also pecks them pretty hard. This does not look like "play" to me but more like a bird that would hurt somebody if he/she were only big enough. Anyone else have experience with an overly agressive chick and any suggestions?

 

[chickbea]

Are all your chicks Araucanas? Are they all the same size? Do they have enough room? Did you get sexed chicks or straight-run?
It sounds like you may have a little roo who is starting to mature and is not sure what to do with all his rampant horniness!

I'm not sure what you can do, other than trying very hard to gentle this chick as much as you can. Try feeding him out of your hand, cuddle him while you are reading or watching TV, and try to enlist friends and family to hold him as well. This will make him nicer to people, but I don't know about to other chickens. Some roos do get so aggressive that they can't be allowed constant access to the hens or they rip them apart.
Providing more room should help, and it's time to start introducing perches anyway (if you don't have some already), so that will give the others some places to go to get away from the harrassment.

 

[chickbea]

Do you breed Paso Finos? They are so gorgeous!

 

[Sharisr32]

Aggression is a bad trait even with the best of handling etc. you just get some nasty birds- I do not breed or keep them--
You maybe able to tell which of the others are roos by which ones it picks on - It sounds to me like it is going for alpha of the chick gang-- you can try seperating it and see if it does better that way rather then letting the others get pecked -

 

[MoonGoddess]

The guy at the feedstore also told me that you could use red lighting to help discourage pecking. Especially if the chicks are of from different breeds. He told me that sometimes they peck at each other because of color variances and the red light disguises that.

 

[pasofinofarm]

Thanks for the suggestions. He is friendly with people just mean to the other chicks. He is the ONLY araucana in with a few ameraucanas and I think he got mixed in by mistake. Although he doesn't have any secondary sexual characteristics yet (at least that I can pick out) I do get the "feeling" he is a roo. We thought he would be cute to keep but maybe not unless they make chicken prozac. If he is not eating or sleeping he is trying to peck or stomp 24/7 which makes him no fun at all. For now I will just seperate him out and send him to live with my black bellied whistling tree ducks, they're pretty tough.
And yes I do have Paso Fino's and they are wonderfull. I have a one month old stud colt right now but no other spring babies on the horsey front.
Thanks again.

 

[justusnak]

Quote:

Good luck with your little mean Roo....seperation for a few days might be good....will take him down a little from the pecking order....maybe after a few days in ISO....put him back...see how he does. If he is still mean...I would try to find him a good home...like a stew pot??