Black Australorp pecking and biting

[chickiema]

I have 6 black australorp chicks that are 4 1/2 months old. The smallest of the flock has just started pecking and biting at me and my daughter anytime we enter the coop. We have never had any trouble until this last weekend. She has always been the little one and it is very evident she is at the bottom of the pecking order. She has grown quite a bit in the last month and is quickly catching up to the rest of the flock but still seems like an outcast. Any ideas- I am going to try the hold and head down method to see if that works ,she used to be just a sweet bird and now I don't dare let my grandkids in the run for fear she will hurt them. The rest of the flock is fine so I am not sure if this is a nutrition issue, they get a good variety of healthy "treats" every day or two as well as they are are on organic feed.
Thanks in advance for any great advice you can give.

 

[aart]

Are you sure 'she' is not a 'he'?

For biting/pecking hens....
......I just 'peck' them back with finger tip sharply applied to the top of their heads....it's what they understand.

Have you been hand feeding them? That can make them aggressive.
Do they have plenty of well balanced feed available at all times?

 

[GitaBooks]

Some hens can be aggressive, but I've never had one that pecked at me in an aggressive way except when they were on eggs or protecting chicks. I have, however, had roosters that attacked me any chance they got.
We were suppose to get 8 pullets and 2 roosters and we ended up with 2 pullets and 8 roosters. Roosters will start acting different then hens, they may stray away from the group, they tend to be bold and follow you around, even at a young age.
When we got those 6 roosters the first in command was friendly if we respected his distance and his hens, the second was aggressive (until he became first, than he became friendly), and those under them were forced into submission and didn't even grow large combs or long tail feathers. They were smaller than the larger roosters too. We thought they were hens, until we took them away from the two and they all turned into roosters.
Hens don't tend to chase you aggressively, but my hens do peck me when they are hungry. I hand feed them and all the pecks are accidental. When I'm slow to feed them they do peck me to try and get me to hurry up, which is a little irritating. They don't seem to realize it slows me down.

Your chicken could be afraid or it could be experiencing pain, which makes it more nervous of being around people. Some breeds are more aggressive than others, with the large, slow breeds tending to be tamer than the thin, flighty breeds.

I hope it all turns out. Good luck with your chickens!

 

[chickiema]

I used to hand feed them and unless the organic chick starter is not enough nutrition (Manna Pro) maybe I need to mix layer feed with it I am not sure. I did try tonight the hold method - by holding them and putting their heads down- I will see how that goes. What else can I mix at 4 months with the chick starter?

 

[aart]

Is that one of your chickens in your avatar?
Some birds are just not gentle or 'nice'....still wonder if you might have a cockerel.

Starter feed should be enough...unless you are feeding lots of other foods/treats.


I like to feed a 'flock raiser' 20% protein crumble to all ages and genders, as non-layers(chicks, males and all molting birds) do not need the extra calcium that is in layer feed and chicks and molters can use the extra protein. Makes life much simpler to store and distribute one type of chow that everyone can eat.

Calcium should be available at all times for the layers, I use oyster shell mixed with rinsed, dried, crushed chicken egg shells in a separate container.

Animal protein (mealworms, a little cheese - beware the salt content, meat scraps) is provided during molting and if I see any feather eating.

The higher protein crumble also offsets the 8% protein scratch grains and other kitchen/garden scraps I like to offer.