Anyone ever had MEAN chicks?

[pharmchickrnmom]

I have 4 barred rocks and 4 wyandottes and all are pretty mellow. They are 7 weeks now and handle quite well. My BRs are very sweet but I have one who has to challenge me every once in a while. She walks up to me with that attitude of I might peck you if you arent watching but I immediately back her off with my hand and voice. I let the others come up for a pet but not her until she shows the proper respect. Keep trying to correct yours until they learn that you are the top hen and wont tolerate their behavior. How much have you handled your BRs? They might need to be handled more often to understand that a hand is not a bad thing. I held mine a lot, petting and talking in a low voice so that they got used to my hands being around them.

 

[speckledhen]

Usually, biting at a young age is either a bid for attention or exploration or sometimes a fear or frustration reaction.
Delawares as a breed are very "mouthy". They explore with their beaks more than any other breed I've had, which means biting. That is not actual aggression, but sometimes just their bid for attention, which they crave. They tend to outgrow it for the most part, but as soon as they are old enough for me to grab their beaks and hold it a few seconds, that's what I do. I don't consider that aggression, per se, due to their age.
The first hatchery stock Dels I had were truly aggressive and one cockerel would attack like the OP described. I sold them off pronto, even the pullets, who were very flighty and nervous, definitely not a trait normal for the breed overall. I've only had one BR chick of all the hundreds who have passed through here that would bite frequently, but she was hatched with those bad Dels and I sold her with them, too. The rest are awesome, sweet, personable birds.

 

[cheeps]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

I have tried to "dicipline" these girls to no avail. As one person said I tried to sort of whap them on the head softly, or push them away, it just makes them madder. I know the difference between some playful exploring/pecking and something that hates my guts and wants to kill me. They really seem to rage out on me. When I push them away they start flapping and squalking and they come back for more! As IMP said, I'm a grown person afraid of a chick. They've gotten to the point that I'm not handling my turkeys like I want to. Oh well, hopefully someone will buy them off of craigslist. My birds are strictly pets and these chicks aren't pet quality IMO.

It's always interesting to compare with other folks! As I figured, some folks think BRs are sweet, and some say they're nuts. I guess it's just like dogs, some people wouldn't have a rottweiler, I wouldn't have any other dog in the world.