So we purchased 11 black australorp chicks. By week 4, four of them were definitely roosters. I've own this breed before and they're were very sweet and good too each other. Unfortunately there was one bad one in the bunch, a roo that would attack the other chicks. I didn't witness it until they were about 5 weeks old and thought maybe this bunch was just really energetic. Then this roo started to bite us also. After it was culled for safety purposes, the chicks are still very unkind with each other. Jumping on each other and not nearly as sweet as my other australorp hens. Is there any way to fix their bad behaviour?
Mean Rooster destroying flock.
- Thread starter Murfturf
- Start date
How big of an area are they in? Aggression can be caused by crowding or not enough room to run, and by a protein deficiency. Another reason can be because they are too warm.
So sharing a bit more information on how they are being kept, and fed may help people help you figure out why.
So sharing a bit more information on how they are being kept, and fed may help people help you figure out why.
- Thread starter
- #3
I have them in a run that is 6 foot by 8 foot. I've been feeding them chick start IFA's brand.
Do they get outside? Or is there a coop too? Almost always this is a space issue or an arrangement of space issue. One of my favorite questions is can a bird see all of the other birds from any position in the set up? That will lead to a lot of aggression.
Adding platforms, roosts, ladders, chairs, sawhorses, pallets up on blocks, leaned against a wall, cardboard boxes all allow birds to move away from and out of sight of other birds. They can get on top of, or down under or behind and out of sight. It actually gives them more space.
But a picture would really help. The kind of tension you describe is almost always from over crowding. If you doubt that, pull 4-5 out of the set up, and see if the rest do not relax. Once, a raccoon did this for me, I had not really been aware of the tension until it was gone.
Chicks grow so fast, what was enough space when they were small rapidly becomes not enough space when they grow. It really has nothing to do with the mean rooster. They don't even remember him.
Mrs K
Adding platforms, roosts, ladders, chairs, sawhorses, pallets up on blocks, leaned against a wall, cardboard boxes all allow birds to move away from and out of sight of other birds. They can get on top of, or down under or behind and out of sight. It actually gives them more space.
But a picture would really help. The kind of tension you describe is almost always from over crowding. If you doubt that, pull 4-5 out of the set up, and see if the rest do not relax. Once, a raccoon did this for me, I had not really been aware of the tension until it was gone.
Chicks grow so fast, what was enough space when they were small rapidly becomes not enough space when they grow. It really has nothing to do with the mean rooster. They don't even remember him.
Mrs K
That's a pretty tight area for active busy youngsters. I agree removing some or increasing their pen size, as well as giving them stuff to do would help.
- Thread starter
- #6
I thought about this also. They free range during the day. And are only in the run when they go in. The yard is a quarter acre (10000) square feet, so don't think space is an issue.
It seems like to me that there was tension because of that bad roo. So we relieved the tension there and not around them. We don't have an issue with predators in our area. I thought once we got rid of the bad Roo they'd be nice to each other. Is there anyway to unlearn that bad behavior. We hold them and love on them every day. Just looking for solutions.
I understand your reasoning, but chickens will not remember a BF a week later. The habits though can get started. Your holding them will have little affect on their behavior with each other.
The thing with all black birds, is it can be difficult to tell them apart. You might band them with different colors, and keep notes. What I am expecting to have you find is that is not all of them, but a couple of more aggressive birds. Perhaps you can watch, and when one starts acting aggressive, catch that bird with a hook or net, or a tube make out of chicken wire. Remove that bird for a while and watch. If the remainder of the flock calms down, you have your answer, if the aggression continues, try and get the other aggressive bird.
I think that you have an all pullet flock, all the same age? I might be wrong. However, a lot of people like a rooster, in a mature laying flock, because often times a good rooster will break these fights up. So if you get them all up to laying, that might be another solution, but I would not recommend adding a rooster until they are all laying.
Sometimes it is their age, and if you get through this, they might settle down. Sometimes it will never work. Not all birds will work together, not all will work in a flock. Removing birds is the easiest and most efficient way of restoring peace in the flock if you tried the other remedies, such as more space, hideouts, platforms, more roosts and multiple feed bowls, hidden from birds at other feed bowls.
On the other hand, these must be getting close to laying and would sell easily. They might work well in another flock. My point here, is that it is reducing the pleasure of having the flock, watching them fight. I always solve for peace in the flock.
Mrs K
The thing with all black birds, is it can be difficult to tell them apart. You might band them with different colors, and keep notes. What I am expecting to have you find is that is not all of them, but a couple of more aggressive birds. Perhaps you can watch, and when one starts acting aggressive, catch that bird with a hook or net, or a tube make out of chicken wire. Remove that bird for a while and watch. If the remainder of the flock calms down, you have your answer, if the aggression continues, try and get the other aggressive bird.
I think that you have an all pullet flock, all the same age? I might be wrong. However, a lot of people like a rooster, in a mature laying flock, because often times a good rooster will break these fights up. So if you get them all up to laying, that might be another solution, but I would not recommend adding a rooster until they are all laying.
Sometimes it is their age, and if you get through this, they might settle down. Sometimes it will never work. Not all birds will work together, not all will work in a flock. Removing birds is the easiest and most efficient way of restoring peace in the flock if you tried the other remedies, such as more space, hideouts, platforms, more roosts and multiple feed bowls, hidden from birds at other feed bowls.
On the other hand, these must be getting close to laying and would sell easily. They might work well in another flock. My point here, is that it is reducing the pleasure of having the flock, watching them fight. I always solve for peace in the flock.
Mrs K
What is their exact age? They could be starting to mature.
What are you seeing as far as bad behaviors?
Behaviors can be learned or inherited. If the whole batch is more aggressive than other that you have had it could be their breeding.
I would agree banding them so you can identify who's trouble may help. You could remove the worse offenders and work your way down until it gets more peaceful.
It is normal for chicks to peck at each other, and to test each other.
The way I understand this is that you have 3 cockerels and 7 pullets of unknown age. Knowing the current age could help. This happens when they are free ranging so not really a space issue. Very often it is but not always. I personally don't think breed has much to do with behaviors, you may be seeing why I feel that way now.
the chicks are still very unkind with each other. Jumping on each other and not nearly as sweet as my other australorp hens
My first thought is that it is probably the three cockerels hitting puberty, which generally leads to them fighting each other and harassing the girls. Nothing to do with breed, just puberty and those darn hormones. But that assumes that they are a certain age.
If they are younger or it's girls going after girls or boys it could be more of a general pecking order thing. Occasionally you get one that is a brute or a psychopath. I find that to be really rare but anything can happen. But mostly it sounds like normal pecking order stuff. Sometimes they settle the pecking order so quietly you never even notice. Sometimes it's not so quiet and you do notice.
I have had one just not like another one to the point that it tried to kill it. All the others were fine together, just that specific one that did not like another specific one.
In also suspect that it's probably one or a very few specific ones. If you can identify the trouble-makers isolating them even temporarily may help. I've had some success and some failures trying to isolate them. I use colored zip ties on legs to tell them apart but an easier way for you since it is just temporary might be to use food coloring. It will not hurt them. At night when they are on the roost, give one a yellow spot on the head. Give another one a green spot. See if you can tell blue on their black feathers, probably can. I'd use red also. Then give one a yellow right wing, maybe another a green left leg. Or at least spots you can see. Make up your own code.
To me it really sounds like cockerels and their hormones but I don't know that.
the chicks are still very unkind with each other. Jumping on each other and not nearly as sweet as my other australorp hens
My first thought is that it is probably the three cockerels hitting puberty, which generally leads to them fighting each other and harassing the girls. Nothing to do with breed, just puberty and those darn hormones. But that assumes that they are a certain age.
If they are younger or it's girls going after girls or boys it could be more of a general pecking order thing. Occasionally you get one that is a brute or a psychopath. I find that to be really rare but anything can happen. But mostly it sounds like normal pecking order stuff. Sometimes they settle the pecking order so quietly you never even notice. Sometimes it's not so quiet and you do notice.
I have had one just not like another one to the point that it tried to kill it. All the others were fine together, just that specific one that did not like another specific one.
In also suspect that it's probably one or a very few specific ones. If you can identify the trouble-makers isolating them even temporarily may help. I've had some success and some failures trying to isolate them. I use colored zip ties on legs to tell them apart but an easier way for you since it is just temporary might be to use food coloring. It will not hurt them. At night when they are on the roost, give one a yellow spot on the head. Give another one a green spot. See if you can tell blue on their black feathers, probably can. I'd use red also. Then give one a yellow right wing, maybe another a green left leg. Or at least spots you can see. Make up your own code.
To me it really sounds like cockerels and their hormones but I don't know that.
- Thread starter
- #10
We finally have peace in the flock now. Thanks everyone for the advice. I started with getting rid of the young roosters where as they were the most aggressive towards my other chickens. Then I went on to single out who else was not blending and sold them in a small group, after watching that they'd be fine together.
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