Confused by chick behavior

[Project Blue]

Fifty years ago I hatched a few bantam chicks (cardboard box incubator) and they were my first chickens and very tame. After a long hiatus I started raising chickens again, for the most part hatching my own. This time standard size chickens for the last 20 years. They never were as tame and people friendly as my first bantams. I attributed this to maybe breed, or as a teenager I might of played more with them as chicks. This year I hatched several clutches and bought some feed store chicks as well. The first couple of groups are pretty much like my chickens always have been. They are a mix of feed store, shipped eggs, and home grown. The last few hatches are straight out of Alfred Hitchcock The Birds. The swarm me when I try to feed them. This started as small chicks, I had to physically push them back to open the door and chuck in corn on the cob or mealworms to keep them busy so I could attend to cleaning their water and fill feeders. Now that they are in coops outside nothing has changed except they now can fly. They start flying into the sides of the coop wherever I'm approaching. Opening the door is a challenge, and usually I shake something like a fist full of hay trying to scare them back or once again throw treats to get inside the coop. It's something like the Progressive commercial where the seagulls attack a guy on the bench if I don't throw a treat. Things were getting crazy so I split them into two groups pulling 7 out and putting them in with the older standoffish chickens. That didn't change a thing. The standoffish are still is standoffish and the super friendly are underfoot or trying to land on me. I kinda like having crazy chickens but am totally puzzled as to why? I incubate in my laundry room and keep chicks in there for awhile, then move them to the garage, then in a starter coop, then finally big coops. I do the same feed routine and never let them run out of feed. There are full brother and sisters Ameraucanas in all the groups of chicks and the only difference is the first groups have 4 total of feedstore chicks. 2 Frosty Cream bars and 2 Barnvelders. The crazy bunch have two gold wyndottes and one silver wyndotte, and two RIR. In all groups the home grown Ameraucanas greatly outnumber the store bought. The only ones that seem naturally more flighty are the Frosty Cream bars. So any ideas what is happening? I keep reading posts about super tame lap chickens but figured they were getting handled daily from an early age. Has anyone else had this happen? Like I said I've been raising chickens for the last 20 years and nothing like this has happened.

 

[Callender Girl]

Sorry, no explanation from me.

I envy folks who have "super tame lap chickens." I raise mine indoors, handle them daily and have a great relationship with them when they first go outdoors (love the reference to the seagull commercial).

Then, somewhere along the line, something in their heads switches on and they act as if they've never seen me before in their little feathery lives. Touch them? Oh, no thanks, they say.

I wish I understood the avian brain -- because my hand-raised runner ducks all think I'm trying to murder them daily and my goose girls are convinced that I work for them (okay, partially true on the latter).

I'll look forward to seeing someone with expertise explain your girls' behaviors.

 

[redinator]

I might be a little impartial but I think it's the RIRs fault. All my chicks were sweet little angels until I added those devils to my flock. Once the reds decided I was something to be feared the rest followed suit with a few exceptions.

In truth I don't know if it was the reds because I got them as the older chickens started to sexually mature, so it could've been a coincidence of timing, but I'll keep blaming the devils, lol.

ETA: I have since rehomed the reds, but I can't seem to convince most of the chickens I'm not going to hurt them.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I am either the Bringer of Treats or the Big Scary Monster, sometimes both on the same day. Several times per day.

Yesterday I was the big scary monster, with birds flying every which way trying to escape and screaming their hearts out to warn the rest of the flock. Sometimes I wonder that they don't break their necks, slamming into walls and each other.

To the Redinator's point, RIR's are trouble in my experience. If I could go back and not include them in my population I would do it in a heartbeat.

At least I haven't had a chick killer in a few generations.

 

[Project Blue]

Sorry, no explanation from me.

I envy folks who have "super tame lap chickens." I raise mine indoors, handle them daily and have a great relationship with them when they first go outdoors (love the reference to the seagull commercial).

Then, somewhere along the line, something in their heads switches on and they act as if they've never seen me before in their little feathery lives. Touch them? Oh, no thanks, they say.

I wish I understood the avian brain -- because my hand-raised runner ducks all think I'm trying to murder them daily and my goose girls are convinced that I work for them (okay, partially true on the latter).

I'll look forward to seeing someone with expertise explain your girls' behaviors.

Like you my chicks usually become aloof when I move them to the garage. I think that's because when I approach I stand above them, in the laundry room they are on a table. Runner ducks are pretty smart in my experience. I had one that got badly injured and instantly became calm and dependent on me living in a box being hand fed and watered. After releasing back in the flock he became a fair weather friend and dumped me for his geese and ducky pals after a couple of days.

 

[Project Blue]

I might be a little impartial but I think it's the RIRs fault. All my chicks were sweet little angels until I added those devils to my flock. Once the reds decided I was something to be feared the rest followed suit with a few exceptions.

In truth I don't know if it was the reds because I got them as the older chickens started to sexually mature, so it could've been a coincidence of timing, but I'll keep blaming the devils, lol.

ETA: I have since rehomed the reds, but I can't seem to convince most of the chickens I'm not going to hurt them.

Hmm. Something to consider. Yesterday I got a painful peck from one of the RIR chicks. She flew up trying to get the corn in my hand but pecked a finger instead. I have not seen them be aggressive towards other chicks. My lavender home grown ameraucana chicks seem to have the most prickly personalities with the other chicks. I just have 2 RIR chicks but they are far from skittish. They will happily land on me in the insane feeding frenzy my appearance triggers.

 

[Project Blue]

I am either the Bringer of Treats or the Big Scary Monster, sometimes both on the same day. Several times per day.

Yesterday I was the big scary monster, with birds flying every which way trying to escape and screaming their hearts out to warn the rest of the flock. Sometimes I wonder that they don't break their necks, slamming into walls and each other.

To the Redinator's point, RIR's are trouble in my experience. If I could go back and not include them in my population I would do it in a heartbeat.

At least I haven't had a chick killer in a few generations.

I'm having the opposite problem. My chickens are slamming on walls trying to get to me. What are your RIR's doing wrong besides killing chicks? Maybe my RIR's are the generals behind the scenes. Attack human and they will drop food, maybe their battle cry. If it's the RIR chicks it may be a good way to tame a whole flock if raised together as chicks. My Ameraucanas are underfoot and flinging themselves at me as well and never did this before. I can put my hands on any of (I think 19) chicks and they don't run. This is not the norm for me, as usually my chickens step back when I enter a coop.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I'm having the opposite problem. My chickens are slamming on walls trying to get to me. What are your RIR's doing wrong besides killing chicks? Maybe my RIR's are the generals behind the scenes. Attack human and they will drop food, maybe their battle cry. If it's the RIR chicks it may be a good way to tame a whole flock if raised together as chicks. My Ameraucanas are underfoot and flinging themselves at me as well and never did this before. I can put my hands on any of (I think 19) chicks and they don't run. This is not the norm for me, as usually my chickens step back when I enter a coop.

The RIRs aren't all bad. They're intelligent, for birdbrains, and mine were cooperative hunters, meaning they would work together to get what they needed, which included ambushing the human treat-bringer while the rest dove for the dropped treats.

They were also the biggest bullies, the most aggressive, and 3 (two straight RIR, one JGxRIR) hated chicks to the point of homicide. Three different groups, but the same behavior. This wasn't normal pecking order stuff. They would actively chase the chick into a blind corner, keeping the chick trapped there, and viciously attack. I saw one corner three chicks--they weren't even close to her, but she chased them down, herded them all into a corner, keeping them trapped with her wings. When one tried to get past her, she abandoned the other two and nearly killed the attempted escapee before I rescued it.

It makes sense that those tendencies would go unnoticed, the breeders accidentally reinforcing the hatred of chicks because breeding birds would never see a chick.

These were hatchery birds, so it's possible it's one group and not a general behavior. I did not keep these birds.

 

[Project Blue]

The RIRs aren't all bad. They're intelligent, for birdbrains, and mine were cooperative hunters, meaning they would work together to get what they needed, which included ambushing the human treat-bringer while the rest dove for the dropped treats.

They were also the biggest bullies, the most aggressive, and 3 (two straight RIR, one JGxRIR) hated chicks to the point of homicide. Three different groups, but the same behavior. This wasn't normal pecking order stuff. They would actively chase the chick into a blind corner, keeping the chick trapped there, and viciously attack. I saw one corner three chicks--they weren't even close to her, but she chased them down, herded them all into a corner, keeping them trapped with her wings. When one tried to get past her, she abandoned the other two and nearly killed the attempted escapee before I rescued it.

It makes sense that those tendencies would go unnoticed, the breeders accidentally reinforcing the hatred of chicks because breeding birds would never see a chick.

These were hatchery birds, so it's possible it's one group and not a general behavior. I did not keep these birds.

My RIR's were from Rural King. I agree it might be one strain from even one hatchery being mass produced with serious temperament flaws. Any domestic animal where the breeders just concentrate on one trait, (egg laying perhaps) is disastrous for a breed overall. Holstein cattle are a classic example. Business men took over breeding just for milk and created cattle that are having longevity problems based on poor structure, hoof, problems etc. Now they have to cross out with some European cattle just to have healthy cows. Now I'm going to watch the RIR more carefully. I have to say they grew fast, feathered out quickly and hold their very well. Originally I bought 4 wyndottes and one silver died a day after purchase. The two gold wyndottes are doing ok, but I pulled the silver and put her in with my youngest group after a bigger chicken pecked its head. The more I think about I think about it, maybe it is the boldness of the RIR's have made the whole group very confident. That said I've seen zero bullying by the RIR's but they are only half grown at this point. Cooperative hunting is pretty intelligent and a little more than scary. Read about Alex the parrot. Birds can be pretty smart.