What is wrong with these chicks!?

[calychicken]

I have some 6 week old chicks. 1 cochin, and 2 OEGB/Japanese bantam crosses. They are really weird, and it's a bit concerning...

Strange behavior 1: The cochin is a cockerel. At only a few weeks he was trying to mount his mother, a silkie cross. He also proceeded to try and mount my knee.

Strange behavior 2: One of the OEGB, whom I call "Jumper", is doing something very weird. When he/she finds something tasty, it makes a sound that I can only describe as a chick replicating the sound that a rooster/mama hen makes when they find food. ( It sounds like: Peep peep peep pepe peep, whilst holding food and bobbing the head up and down.)

What is going on? Is this normal? Has anyone seen this happen?

 

[Hungry Chicken]

I have seen both these things happen. They kind of just mount whatever/whoever they want. Our rooster once tried to mount an empty tofu box that we fed them treats in...

I don't know the specific name for the second behavior, our rooster does it too. Basically it is a mating tactic. When a rooster/cockerel finds something tasty he'll do that sound to call the nearby hens/pullets. Once they come to eat he then mounts them...

Hope this helps!

 

[calychicken]

I have seen both these things happen. They kind of just mount whatever/whoever they want. Our rooster once tried to mount an empty tofu box that we fed them treats in...

I don't know the specific name for the second behavior, our rooster does it too. Basically it is a mating tactic. When a rooster/cockerel finds something tasty he'll do that sound to call the nearby hens/pullets. Once they come to eat he then mounts them...

Hope this helps!

So, it's a cockerel thing only? And isn't six weeks pretty young? The chick doesn't try to mount any other chicks, the strange behaviors were two different chicks.

 

[Hungry Chicken]

I have seen my hens call to their flock when they find food too but I would say roosters do it more. Yeah six weeks is kind of young. It was honestly so long ago that our rooster was that age that I forgot... Sorry!

 

[Sally PB]

When he/she finds something tasty, it makes a sound that I can only describe as a chick replicating the sound that a rooster/mama hen makes when they find food. ( It sounds like: Peep peep peep pepe peep, whilst holding food and bobbing the head up and down.)

I don't know the specific name for the second behavior,

It's called "tidbitting."

 

[calychicken]

I have seen my hens call to their flock when they find food too but I would say roosters do it more. Yeah six weeks is kind of young. It was honestly so long ago that our rooster was that age that I forgot... Sorry!

Oh, don't worry! Your good!

 

[DonyaQuick]

The food-related behavior is called tidbitting. I have a chick that just recently started tidbitting at 3 weeks old, still doing it occasionally at 4.5 weeks. I haven't seen it before either but I guess it's a thing! That chick of mine is supposed to be a pullet but I won't know for sure for some time yet. Tidbitting is not a cockerel-exclusive behavior; one of my 3-year-old hens will tidbit to try to share treats with me.

 

[calychicken]

Tidbitting is not a cockerel-exclusive behavior; one of my 3-year-old hens will tidbit to try to share treats with me.

Phew, that gives me hope that it's not a cockerel. I already have 2 roosters, don't need 3

 

[Kimberlyhogan6697]

We had 1 Cockrel that mounted everything and was aggressive super early. When I would come into the run I’d have a towel and he would grab it and hump the heck out of it

 

[Windestroychickybirbs]

I have some 6 week old chicks. 1 cochin, and 2 OEGB/Japanese bantam crosses. They are really weird, and it's a bit concerning...

Strange behavior 1: The cochin is a cockerel. At only a few weeks he was trying to mount his mother, a silkie cross. He also proceeded to try and mount my knee.

Strange behavior 2: One of the OEGB, whom I call "Jumper", is doing something very weird. When he/she finds something tasty, it makes a sound that I can only describe as a chick replicating the sound that a rooster/mama hen makes when they find food. ( It sounds like: Peep peep peep pepe peep, whilst holding food and bobbing the head up and down.)

What is going on? Is this normal? Has anyone seen this happen?

Mounting is normal ,, especially at a few weeks, it's so common in roosters by the way, when I get my young rooster out of the cage, he flies up to it without anything forcing him