Mean 6 week old chicks....what do I do?

[bbecca]

I have 4 americaunas and 4 speckled Sussex chicks that are almost 6 weeks old. There are 2 chicks (1of each breed) that are a problem for me. Since I got them at 1 wk old, they have been pecking at the others and flying on top of them and it seems like they go a little crazy and it gets the whole flock going. There's been no blood or injuries so far. They just are super flighty and seem to be frantic. I understand they are establishing pecking order but these two are also aggressive with me when I reach in to get there food dish, they peck my hand or run up charging with feathers out. I have tryed holding them as much as I can each day but still they aren't very nice. The last few days I have been letting them out of dog crate and into the whole coop for a few hours at a time, while my other chickens are out in the run. (I will be introducing them to an existing flock in another week or two, so they are in a crate inside coop. ) I am letting them get used to the coop first but today I sat back and watched these same two cause havoc amongst the flock. And when I kneeled down to be closer to them these two have similar reaction as a rooster. They put the heads down and ran toward me charging and then feathers all puffed up. I grabbed one up in my hands and it kept trying to peck me. I don't know what to do and need some advice. If I get rid of these two will my flock be more peaceful and less flighty and scared all the time? I've never had these breeds before so I'm not sure if this is just their nature or if these mean chicks are causing too much stress.

 

[Pork Pie]

Sounds like you've got yourself a couple of cockerels that don't know their place! Maybe try posting pics on this forum - https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this for confirmation of gender. I've raised cockerels that are a little more confident and inquisitive than their sisters, but not as crazy as you describe. If they are indeed cockerels, and you don't want to keep them for breeding purposes, I'd suggest getting rid of them. They may calm down, once they are integrated with the adults, as the adults will not tolerate that kind of behaviour and they will know their place very quickly.

 

[bbecca]

@CTKen thank you for your input. That's a good point on once they're integrated, see if they calm down a bit.