Red bulb made my chick violent?

[GitaBooks]

I've lost chickens to both predators and illness. It is very hard and stressful, and leaves your worrying a lot. Building a secure outdoor enclosure is a great idea, as fresh air and sunlight seem to make poultry glow.

Some people don't seem to appreciate how intelligent chickens can be. Sure they sometimes do the silliest of things, like try to walk through a fence, but so do dogs. People keep parrots and call them so smart because they can talk, but chickens are as good pets are parrots, if not better. They can't bite your finger off, they don't need their wings clipped, and they are way cheaper to buy and care for!

As for how to calm a rooster down, it really depends on the individual. All the top roosters I've had have been nice, its the second-in-command that seems to be the most aggressive in my flock. Often when we get a new second in command, that one becomes aggressive. When we let the second in command become the leader, he calms down. My chickens aren't as tame as yours, but I find with my lead rooster (Dominator) that if I respect him and his hens, he'll be friendly.
There are lots of roosters that are very nice, so just don't make him have any reason to be fearful of jealous of you and hopefully he'll be a kind gentlemen.

 

[prepperchickens]

It's good to hear you say that. I find that having guineas, especially any males, in with roosters changes the dynamic. My guineas never intentionally harm anyone, they are very kind natured, but they get so excited about treats and food that they can inadvertently oppress the chickens. It's not on purpose and I've never seen a guinea peck anyone, even when my EE pecked my poor guinea hen Ducky who was panting and had a scrape on her head after the final cat attack (she was trying to get out and scraped her head, no injury from cat thanks to Little Foot), I've never seen Ducky show any aggression. Even still, it seems guineas become the default leaders because they are so curious and energetic and kind of naive about danger compared to chickens. Little Foot was top dog because he was always first to check stuff out, the chickens all followed him. Now Ducky is kind of the top hen, but my barred rock Lydia is edging ahead, she's becoming even more bold and curious than Ducky the guinea. Macao is the oldest (over 3 mos old) biggest, but she's definitely the beta. She's the EE, and no one picks on her (in fact she has pecked Ducky once and my barred rock chicks the first day she met them) but she's such a fraidy cat and she follows everyone else. She's always on guard for danger though.
I hear guineas can really run a rooster down, not even on purpose but just by being quicker and more energetic. No chicken can grab a worm or even spot a worm as fast as a guinea can. It may be a good thing that my rooster is already boss in around my male keet, it might set the tone for when they're older so that my little roo doesn't get walked all over by accident? Already the keet is so rambunctious he accidentally runs into my sebrights, they are just the slightest hair smaller but they are not rough and tumble lol, it's like they know they're classy. I may have to cordone my keet off to where he can see either the sebrights or the big birds but not be among them soon, and I may have to just keep him on my shoulder a lot while he's in between sizes. I'm gonna set a brooder up within sight of my hens soon so the sebrights are safe but visible in the daytime. My hens are gentle but you never know, and the guinea has a very sharp beak, she hurts my hand when I hand feed her, I'm sure she could kill the chicks or keet with that peck. Lydia pulled my roosters toe today when I held them up to each other. I didn't realize how small sebrights were when I got them, I figured they got to be a lot bigger than a dove lol. Hopefully they will be the top chickens, I hear they dominate the flock more often than not? Oh I wanted to ask you, what is your barred rock like? What stands out about her personality to you? Is she intelligent ?

 

[GitaBooks]

Dominator is my barred rock master. He use to be the aggressive Second-in-command, but I fell in love with him through it and got rid of his older brother, keeping him. He is calm, respected, and takes excellent care of his hens. The younger roosters chase the hens and they run to him, where he protects them. The other roosters all know to leave him alone, and if they try anything, they better look out, because he is twice the size of most of my other roosters.
He lets me pick him up, but it embarrasses him in front of hens and makes him grumble a little. He will eat from my hand and loves to share with his hens, even when he is hungry. He's one of my favorites and I'm not going to get rid of him. I want to keep him as long as he lives.

As for my hen, Liberty, she is equally calm about things. She walks casually around, eyeing the more energetic young hens and looking all regal. She loves dominator and even kisses him on the cheek (no joke!). She doesn't really like me to touch her (none of my adult chickens do) but she loves to get treats and will follow me and comes running whenever I arrive.

Barred Rocks seem intelligent, calm, and docile. I like them a lot!


Yes, guineas are very outgoing. I'm glad yours are so tame and get along with your chickens.


(Dominator and his lovely girl Liberty. Domni is missing his comb due to frostbite and some of his tail because he was attacked by a dog we were pet-sitting)