Please help w/4 week old bully

[HeatherKellyB]

Hi friends! I ordered a small flock from Cackle Hatchery (ended up with 6 chicks in my shipment) and they just turned 4 weeks old yesterday. I have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Barred Rocks, and 2 Wyandotte's (black & silver - their exact wording gets me mixed up so saving time). One of the BO's has been identified as a cockerel here. I'm unsure of the others. The problem is that this BO cockerel is so incredibly mean to the others. If they fly/flap over to their roost, he runs over and pecks them. If they do anything really, he runs over and pecks them. He hasn't injured anyone yet but he causes quite a bit of stress. I decided to separate him from the others on Monday. I kept him by himself for about 45 minutes since they're so young. He cried out most of the time. I made sure that he knew that I was there and he could still hear the other girls. When I put him back, I noticed a positive difference for about a day. He has started to pick on the other BO for most everything she does and his behavior towards the other girls is going back to what I see as bully like behavior. The other 5 just kind of scream, hunker down and move out of his way anytime he does this. Whenever I pick him up or if they accidentally bump into him, he screams like a wing is being torn off. Of course it's not a scream or actions like he's hurt, he is angry. I plan on finding a home for him once he is fully feathered and a bit older. What would you do? I hate seeing these girls like this. It reminds me of the saying "walking on eggshells" literally!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I hope I've posted this in the correct forum. It could fit into a few forums but decided to post here due to age

 

[Sherloki]

Hopefully someone else chimes in, but that might be normal behaviour. My dominant pullet has always been similar- she’d bite and/or try and pull off any who were sitting higher up than her- recently she pulled some tail feathers out of one of the cockerels for that sin. The wing flapping seeks provocative in general, I’ve seen both pullets and cockerels charge birds flapping three wings. Chickens take the pecking order seriously If it’s constant bullying is it possible they don’t have enough room, lack of space can exacerbate these behaviors.

 

[azygous]

Four weeks old is a bit early for the pecking order issues that can cause such conflict. It's likely due more to hormones and individual temperament.

I've had this issue recently among my newest chicks that are now approaching four months. When they were around six weeks, I was aware that the little trouble maker in the group of six was a cockerel. Like your little tyrant, mine was stressing his mates with his aggression and bullying.

This time, I decided to cull as a solution, and I am relieved I did it when I did. I have two adult roos and a third, especially one with a nasty temperament, would put serious strain on the flock. I've had enough good and bad roos to be able to see what sort I'm getting while they are still young.

Rehoming is a good solution, too. A chick is usually ready to go to a new flock around age ten weeks. Meanwhile, I would try disciplining him when he misbehaves. Give him a swift peck with your finger on his back when he starts picking on the girls. Often that will alter bad behavior.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Hopefully someone else chimes in, but that might be normal behaviour. My dominant pullet has always been similar- she’d bite and/or try and pull off any who were sitting higher up than her- recently she pulled some tail feathers out of one of the cockerels for that sin. The wing flapping seeks provocative in general, I’ve seen both pullets and cockerels charge birds flapping three wings. Chickens take the pecking order seriously If it’s constant bullying is it possible they don’t have enough room, lack of space can exacerbate these behaviors.

Actually, they're going to be moved into their coop outside this weekend. As of now, they spend the days outside in a makeshift run and then come inside at dark/night. I've considered the space thing, but he has been this way for as long as I can remember (not that they're old or anything, hahaha) and the girls don't act this way.
Another thing I worry about is the other BO (hopeful she is a Pullet since I did originally order only pullets) will be the only BO, once I rehome the cockerel. Each breed seems to hang out together. I have noticed significant differences in the 2 Wyandotte's, so there's a possibility that one of those will be rehomed if there is a cockerel. I do worry about singles. Hopefully they cope well in any environment. I am fairly confident that the 2 barred rocks are both females and they're both extremely well behaved.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Four weeks old is a bit early for the pecking order issues that can cause such conflict. It's likely due more to hormones and individual temperament.

I've had this issue recently among my newest chicks that are now approaching four months. When they were around six weeks, I was aware that the little trouble maker in the group of six was a cockerel. Like your little tyrant, mine was stressing his mates with his aggression and bullying.

This time, I decided to cull as a solution, and I am relieved I did it when I did. I have two adult roos and a third, especially one with a nasty temperament, would put serious strain on the flock. I've had enough good and bad roos to be able to see what sort I'm getting while they are still young.

Rehoming is a good solution, too. A chick is usually ready to go to a new flock around age ten weeks. Meanwhile, I would try disciplining him when he misbehaves. Give him a swift peck with your finger on his back when he starts picking on the girls. Often that will alter bad behavior.

I was worried about his temperament and how the best way to deal with this is to cull. So many things have crossed my mind. If he is this aggressive at this age, will he be worse as he ages? If I rehome him, am I just putting a problem off on someone else? Now, I'm wondering (not wondering if your info is correct, but wondering if we/the girls can deal with him unless he changes, for that long) if 10 weeks is the appropriate age to join a new flock, we're 4 Weeks & 1 day. 10 weeks is a ways off. This is difficult. I am tender hearted when it comes to animals, so I'm not only thinking of the girls, but also thinking about him. I've only had chickens since the end of May, so I can't thank you enough for helping me with this. My daughter is very involved and being 7 years old, I really have to exhaust all options before I make the decision to cull (although in reality it has to remain an option especially with a cockerel). I spoke with my daughter to try to help her understand this & we're going to try your suggestion, with "pecking" him any time we notice him being a bully. Do you recommend short term isolation (time outs) at this age, or ever?

 

[azygous]

My recent group of six chicks were three pairs of different breeds. The cockerel I culled was a Blue Andelusian and that left a single Andelusian pullet. I saw no sign she or the other pullets missed the cockerel after he was gone. And they show no signs of treating the Andelusian any differently than they did before. The remaining five may as well be all of one breed for how tightly they behave as a unit.

Ten weeks has been the age I have rehomed cockerels in the past. They happened to be a bit on the aggressive side, but the new owners reported the boys adjusted to their new flocks very well and quite easily with just a few days of gradual integration. They both went to flocks that had no roo, so they were wanted as flock caretakers, not barbecue.

I've used the finger pecking for years on aggressive baby chicks with great success. I've never resorted to timeouts for the simple reason chickens don't understand the significance of it. Pecking is well understood by all chickens since that's how they discipline problem individuals. I wrote an article about it years ago. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aggressive-baby-chicks-and-how-to-stop-the-behavior.72029/

 

[WhoDatChick]

I had the same thing happen.. I got four mixed chicks.. at week one the “rooster” which I was convinced of.. would mercilessly bully the tiny SS.. I felt his behavior was causing her such stress that she was not growing properly... so I separated..and the other chicks were so much happier... he was probably two weeks old when I separated and by three weeks I found him a home.. he went there.. did great and now is a lovely rooster... and gorgeous to boot! I don’t think it’s worth the stress to you and the chicks.. keep him separate till you find him a home.. or whatever you decide...
When the gal I gave him to put him with her smaller babies.. he acted like a mama to them.. they would hide under his wings

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Thank you all so so much. My heart hurts so much for this little bully. I ended up taking him away from the girls and put him with 1 of my 8 week old Cockerels. The Barred Rock did so much better than I thought. At first he initiated a stare down with the BO baby cockerel & the BO didn't last long before looking away. Then the BR just pecked around until the BO just started aggressively pecking the BR's face & head. So the BR gave a few warning pecks on the BO back. The BO kept going back for more but he finally gave it a rest. I don't think the BO backed down. In all honesty, I believe he was just tired. The BO would scream when the BR would peck him back on the tail feathers, anytime the BO would peck him. I am just so worried about him. The girls usually cry out if one of them is not with them, but they didn't say a word the entire time meanie butt was gone. There was no cry/call for him. I'm going to post tomorrow in my area to see if anyone has a flock around his age that wants him. My older cockerels won't be here much longer so now that I think about it it'd be pointless to try to integrate him with them. I'm considering ALL of the options, so I sincerely appreciate this help. I don't feel like I have ruined this bird now and that's a lot of weight off my shoulders, now to figure out the best way to deal with this.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Just an FYI, I didn't leave the BO baby chick with the BR 8 weeker. I put him back with the girls since it's bedtime anyway. Going to sleep on this and read the article posted. I welcome anymore advice, similar situations, anything you can share to help is greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much