Naughty girls

[haleychickmumma]

Our girls seem to be going through a naughty stage. They are roughly 16 weeks. They are getting a bit aggressive and quite pecky towards us. They hate to be touched or held. They seem to be obsessed with trying to get into the house. 1 girl in particular has started acting out. She has started launching herself feet first into the back screen door and also the chicken coop wire when I don't let them out. (We keep them in their coop while we are at work) Just wondering if this is just normal chicken behavior or will they calm down a bit once they start laying?

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

What breeds are they? For some its normal, and for some its not.

 

[haleychickmumma]

2 black australorps and 2 red sex. The australorps are naughtier and the red sex are hating human contact (unless I have food)

 

[chooks4life]

I wouldn't stake my hopes on them calming down once laying, I've had hens do that 'bouncing off the door' thing while in lay... I culled it out because I got sick of hens launching themselves at my face, risking my eyes. There's a specific mindset behind that behavior, and it's not a nice one.

If they do it on the door when you're standing behind it, they will also do it towards your face when there is no door between you and them, almost always without any warning whatsoever.

It's also some chooks' default way of managing the whole 'feeling cornered by a human' issue... Launch yourself at the human's face! lol... Or not.

It's very dangerous, because as you observe, they do launch feet-first, as an attack. It's not an accident and not a coincidence either, it's deliberate.

As with any behavioral trait there's a strong chance it's heritable.

I don't have any that are aggressive with other chooks or humans, because after trying to manage and train that behavior out for the first few years of keeping poultry, I realized it was an ongoing multi-generational safety issue and only culling it out would stop it within a reasonable timeframe. Not going to spend the rest of my life training it out of every single generation, and constantly retraining the adults who keep slipping back into that behavior, sorry, I know some people do that but it's not for me.

In short, chances are that's just how your chooks are, as it's inherited, and if you want a calmer line you probably have to get it elsewhere. My chooks don't go through 'phases' like that since I culled it out, since it was never a phase.

(It's not impossible that it is a phase but I suggest you don't count on it, lol.)

Best wishes.

 

[iwiw60]

2 black australorps and 2 red sex. The australorps are naughtier and the red sex are hating human contact (unless I have food)

Gosh, I have Black Australorps and quite contrary to what you're experiencing my girls are the most docile, loving things. I'm assuming you raised these birds from chicks? Did you spend time with them, giving them treats to tame and calm them? Talking to them in a very soft, quiet tone is also a good thing. I wish you all the best and hope they calm down some for you.

 

[chooks4life]

Gosh, I have Black Australorps and quite contrary to what you're experiencing my girls are the most docile, loving things. I'm assuming you raised these birds from chicks? Did you spend time with them, giving them treats to tame and calm them? Talking to them in a very soft, quiet tone is also a good thing. I wish you all the best and hope they calm down some for you.

X2 all this, talking to them helps with just about any species wild or domestic. My B.Aus.Orps were nice natured birds, but I've heard of some really nasty ones, and as cityfarmer12 said, it's normal for some breeds and not others... That said, if there is any breed you like and your first lot of them is nasty, try again from somewhere else, and you can get a nice lot. Family line counts for a heck of a lot. Some people don't select for temperament, only type or economic qualities, which can lead to some real nasty sorts passing on their mentalities. The breed reviews are actually strain reviews, they can never speak for the whole breed.

Best wishes.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

most of my black australorps are really nice, but i have a rescue one who is pretty mean. I agree with iwiw60, it really matters how they were raised. She was with a big group i rescued, and none of them had been treated very well. The only nice ones were a buff orpington and Cochin bantam.

My red sex links (not the rescues always dislike human contact unless i have food, so that is pretty normal.

 

[haleychickmumma]

We've had them from 1 week old. Hand raised and very cuddly when they were little. Only in the last 2 weeks have we noticed a bit of a change in them. Not major but noticeable.
Also the weather has started to get a lot hotter as we go into Aussie summer. Could this affect their moods?
Love them to bits though so can't see us getting rid of any of them.

 

[iwiw60]

We've had them from 1 week old. Hand raised and very cuddly when they were little. Only in the last 2 weeks have we noticed a bit of a change in them. Not major but noticeable.
Also the weather has started to get a lot hotter as we go into Aussie summer. Could this affect their moods?
Love them to bits though so can't see us getting rid of any of them.

Sure the oncoming heat could maybe have something to do with it. But at 16 weeks of age are you sure you don't have a roo in the group that might be the cause? Pictures would be great!

 

[haleychickmumma]

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