So that could very well be part of it
@Tatuana ... but as
@oldhenlikesdogs mentioned, looks like they're getting into "teens" age, so that'll play in as well. I have 3 "teens" all born on jan 10th, minutes from each others and right now and they're challenging each constantly. Also I'm pretty sure the darker one with the lighter head who flew to the couch (Angry Baby?) is a lil' roo, just by his behavior. At that age, you should start seeing lil' spurs coming out, maybe 1/8". But then again, I've had a few hens with mini spurs so as frustrating as it is, gender ID is a dark art... at least for me
Oh good lord, the teens age sounds like it will be such fun. Angry Baby is adorable with his neck fluffed out, but not good for the other chicks! He's for sure the leader of the pack. Tallis is the one who flew to the couch - Angry Baby is a Barred Rock on the chair. She's... odd. VERY timid (terrified of my hands and runs and screams from me?) but aggressive. She used to be the second in command. I think she may still be. She's joined Ellywe and Oogity Boogity to make their own pack. (Eyllwe is her sister, Oogity is a Black Copper Marons. I forget what Tallis is. It's diamond... something. Silver laced. She'll be black and white) They're the non friendly ones. Non of the others *seem* aggressive. I think.
Angry baby sounds a bit boyish in behavior to me too... you will know when they crow, or start reacting to each other’s crows... hopefully you’ve got a bunch of little hens, but my luck has tended towards the males. Get them as much room and distractions as possible until your weather clears up... my first hatch was stuck inside until over 9 weeks old due to weather, and they started getting squirrelly as well.
I've pretty much known he was a he since he hatched! He used to stand on the little heating cave in their brooder and SCREAM for hours. He wasn't cold, wasn't sick. He just liked his voice. And then his comb came in fast and large. It's turning already. Honestly, if he was a girl I'd be very worried. I also fully expect Oogity to be a male (The leg chaps one). Jury is still out on Ava, but if she's a guy I won't be surprised either.
I'll have to find out what chickens like to play with. They LOVE paper towels. Too much.
Also as sweet and lovely as chickens may seem to be, never forget that they are descended from dinosaurs.
Yess, I fondly call them my little demons.
Seriously though... another challenge you might be facing in the near future is in integrating the groups, you have both different ages and breeds, with some size differences as well. Not a criticism, I’m in a similar circumstance myself due to chicken math...
Oh yes. I've already run into this. Morath and Zinthos want to be part of the pack SO BAD. But the older babies are cruel. I'm not sure how it's going to work out, to be honest. It's also hard with Killian. She's still puff ball sized even though she's a week old. The other babies at two weeks are three times her size. She's so tiny I'm kind of worried. Adding her to the flock would be deadly.
They're still obsessed with the chair in the living room. I locked them out for several hours. I had to leave the door open for less than five minutes to take out some trash. I came back and they were asleep on the chair.
I booted them out again (gently) and in the struggle to close the screen door Ava got hurt and went into shock for a few hours. (Pinched leg, she's fine. She tried to climb over Angry Baby to get in and got mashed against a wall. I wasn't really moving the door so she just favored her other leg for an hour and slowly got over it.)
I have no idea what it is about that chair that's so beautiful to them.They pooped all over it! Maybe it's high up? I've no idea. Breaking them from their obsession will be tricky. And their need to be in the house. If they want to be house birds, they're getting diapers. And nobody wants diapers.
Do they just break over time? Locking them out enough? I love them to death, but that chair is in my sewing room and I can't have them eating strings. Or my patterns. Or the blinds. The pins. The sewing machine. The chair ties. The wood on the chair. Yeah, they need to go out.
) My very limited experiences... I have 25 chickens 17-20 weeks old (“ish” because it’s too late for me to math ATM!)
