my rhode island reds are so mean!!!!!!!!!!

[heather112588]

i raised 5 rir chicks last summer, they are all now 8 months old and are sweeter than any of my barred rocks! Lady (my only hen from that batch) loves to be pet and snuggle above any of the others...she is actually the 2nd to lowest ranking in my flock...no aggression at all, the complete opposite. My males have yet to challenge me!

 

[trishcap]

The picture you posted looks like my RIR roo, he was suppose to be a pullet and I got two roo's instead, had to put the more docile one of the two at my daughters, the one I have is starting to get aggressive with me, flying at me,scatching his foot on the ground like he is a bull and charging at me. He is about 5 1/2 months old, I sure hope its just puberty, cause he has my two pullets scared and hanging in the coop alot.

 

[silkieloverz123]

i just found someone gettin rid of some RIR's and am gettin 4 of em so....., hopefully they will not be aggressive! Good luck every1

 

[annabelle71]

We have 7 pullets about 5-6 weeks old. 3 of the 7 are Rhode Island Reds and one has started pecking at the others hind quarters. Enough pecking done to one chicken that we saw blood and have used Blu Kote. The injured girl was isolated in a dog crate for most of the day but when night came they were all very nervous and seemed disturbed about the other chick away from the flock so I added her back to the flock and removed the bully who has done the pecking. I have gone through the list, made sure they have enough space, bought a new/bigger feeder, food is high in protein so I'm not sure if this chicken who we call "Buffy" is unhappy about something or just ornery. Does this breed tend to be aggressive, if so we want to take care of the problem sooner than later. It has been noticeable that one of the California Gray's takes after Buffy when she tried to be bad so I am hoping with the pecking order things will calm down. How long is it okay to keep one chicken isolated from the rest? During the day I will make sure they can see one another, but I fear for the smaller chickens as I don't want any more injuries.

 

[Nicole01]

I think it's the breed. Mine are not the sweetest either, but they are awesome layers.

 

[Onyx9370]

I have 6 RIR, and they have always been ok.Out of my whole flock they are the least interested in people. They do not want to be touched or picked up, and boy are they fast! (I always got to them last on wing clipping day)but they weren't aggressive. Then a few weeks before they started to lay a couple of them (I'm not sure who all is laying yet and who isn't) turned a bit aggressive, one more than the other. One came up and tried to flog me like a roo! Came flying and clawing up at me, and all I was doing was bringing in the feed! That was the first time, every since then she will threaten me and has bitten me on the toe. Not everyone is laying yet, and only these 2 RIR have gotten aggressive, and they still are. It's been about 3 weeks. I know other people with them and I've never seen them act this way. Hope it's just the hormones lol

 

[Robert Blosl]

Are they really Rhode Island Reds that you have?

Type in Blosl and go to a thread that I started almost three years ago. Maybe after you read the hundreds of post you can see why your chickens are so mean. Nothing new for over 50 years since yours where invented. bob

 

[Onyx9370]

Are you talking about the thread: The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site? And yes they are RIR, although I'm sure they are more "hatchery" than heritage since I got them from a local feed store. And this is my first year with chickens so I could be wrong about any number of things lol. But thanks, many interesting threads popped up when I searched.

 

[Robert Blosl]

You are right on on this. Someone posted on the Barred Rock tread about a group of females are getting cranky befor laying. Never heard that on Producion barred rocks. vs Production Reds
I have got I bet 50 complaints in 20 years from people why my r I reds are so mean and every time they tell me where they bought them and its the same old thing.

If you ask 1000 people on this board about the behavior of ri I reds they will tell you the same thing. Reason that's what most people get. If you go to Bing. com and type in R I Reds pictures you will see 90 of the pictures are production reds. Now if you type in Rose Comb Rhode Isalnd Reds or R I Red bantams you will see more of the darker color. The darker the feathers the more docile they are. Great point and hope you undersand

 

[abserbean]

This is our first year with chickens, and I purchased our RIR from a local feed store. I have since learned that she is not heritage, but a production mutt. We didn't get them to show, so I'm okay with that, and thankfully she is sweet and docile, not even top of the pecking order even though she is the biggest. I think it is a mixed bag with hatchery quality RIR's, and it sounds like you got the mean ones, at least they are usually big enough to eat! My daughter loves to snuggle with Lucy, so hopefully she stays so nice!