Ugggg... Now I dread having to go feed the chickens. (* )> There are 11 chickens which I had to help hatch at the end of November/beginning of December (Hens decided to stop sitting). The 11 chicks were cared for in my house till old enough to be outside. They always had people around them and still do. (*6 are Roosters & 5 are Hens) ~~~The PROBLEM is that while a couple of them "sometimes" try to peck at my feet, I have had 2 actually BITE/PECK my hand real hard. Today 1 of the Roosters kept trying to peck at my feet and then it got my hand. I yelled as him and another Rooster were acting aggressive, coming towards me as if they were gonna try and corner me. When I shook a twig at them & said no you bad boys, it was as if it made them more aggressive. }}}}} I thought since I hatched and care for these birds they would never be mean and bite/peck me. Is this normal behavior? I DON'T like aggressive, mean pets. I also have another rooster that i hatched, hes a little older and he is mean too. He tries to attack your legs if your in their area. (*)> Whats up with these mean chickens? What should I do? Thanks, ~Julie
I just dealt with one of my araucanas today. She has been broody for the last three or four days and turned into the nastiest, meanest little creature I've encountered in a long time. She would attack your hand if you got near her on the nest. Yesterday I bit the bullet and removed her from the nest and she really went ballistic on me. This am I built her a separate pen with a wire bottom. She's hating life right about now... but it beats the stock pot, which is where she'll wind up if she doesn't come to her senses in a week or so!
IMO; thats a LOT of roos in one place...especially with not that many hens... those POOR hens...can you even imagine the amount of mounting they are getting??? seriously... 1 roo per about 8-10 hens is what I've read...I only have 1 roo for my girls right now..and WONT entertain the idea of anymore... *************************************** However that being said; I've whacked mine REALLY hard with a stick..but they were attacking mygirls...a mean ole roo who found his way into a freezercamp.. but many had told me..that you need to show them whose boss; you can grab them by their legs and walk around with them hanging upside down..and do it until they quit fighting.... its hard..those things are HEAVY...but I wonder if they could be extra aggressive due to the fact there arent many hens and they are fighting over the mating etc?
To start with you have way too many roosters. The roosters have been habituated to humans and have no respect for you. They are trying to subordinate you as they would any other 'flock member'. "Pet" roosters are very likely to become aggressive when they reach sexual maturity. Why not get rid of the aggressive roosters and only keep those that do not attack. If you do nothing about their behavior, it will escalate. There are many threads on "rooster behavior modification". Some of these methods may or may not be effective. Culling is 100% effective.
Your broody hen was doing what broody hens do - protecting the nest. I understand if you don't want her to hatch any out, but please understand that this is normal behavior for a broody. X2
I knew there were too many roo's but i didn't think it would be a problem for a while since they were all born and raised together... guess i was wrong. Now i need to figure out what to do with all the extras. Today i let all the roo's out in the yard to free range away from the girls and they were all sooo much more friendlier and only 1 or 2 little squabbles. Before i let them out they chased 1 of the girls and she flew out to another area away from the roo's later when i put her back i noticed a slight limp. I got to figure out where to house the roo's at for the night so then they can be out in the yard again tomorrow. Thanks every body for your help I'm still learning. ~Julie
