Anxious Chicken

[SFalpaca]

Is there something you can give a chicken to help with anxiety? I'm thinking like Rescue Remedy, but for birds (cause you can't give RR to birds). I have an almost year old silkie roo, who I swear has anxiety issues. He's always been this way. I'm not sure why. We got him as a week old from a hatchery. His "sibs" are all calm and "silkie" like, and he's a basket case. I have chicken cams in the coop and in the run. And we have them on in the house almost all the time, so I have a pretty good idea of behaviors. I've never seen him bullied. He acts scared of everything. For example, he's afraid to go outside. He'll stand in the doorway looking out. Like he wants to go, but then will run and hide inside. If I put him outside in the run far from the doors, he goes back inside almost immediately. It's like he acts like big man on campus and a little wellsummer hen says boo, and he runs off in terror. I was wondering if there was something we could give him to just take the edge off so he could cope better? Make his life better and everyone elses too.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

You are anthropomorphizing. Which we do a lot on this site. But I think you need to look for the cause of his behavior, not something to drug him with. Any good doctor would do the same with a human. Here is a good place to get started:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[SFalpaca]

I worked for years in a zoo. I know all about anthropomorphizing. I also know about asking questiosn in more laymans terms to be relatable to a large group of people. I also am well trained in observation. I did read the article you suggested and found it interesting, but it has nothing to do with my question. And very few people would call Rescue Remedy a drug.

Now back to my question, I have a young roo who is highly agitated for no appear reason. This is based on daily observation for nearly a year. This agitation was noticed within hours of him arriving at my house. And while it's not constant. It can be observed daily and frequently every day. This agitation is directly at people, chickens, llamas (dude you can't take on a 450lb animal and think you're going to win that one), and objects. In people terms, he's scared of everything then picks a fight with it.

I do know that putting things like lavendar in the nesting boxes can be calming to hens. Is the same true for roos and if so, where do you put it. He doesn't go in the nest box. Is there anything else that you have found that calms agitated chickens?

We have about 25sqft per bird (mostly bantams), mutliple waters and feeders. When we give treats we do so in multiple places so everyone gets some. Resources are plenty.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I am sure there is something herbal you could mellow him out with but I also think that is a band-aid. There is either a reason he is acting that way or it is genetic. If there is a reason and it can be fixed wouldn’t that be preferable? Perhaps some of the other articles about roosters on here would be helpful because there are lots of methods for calming down an aggressive (fearful) rooster. Like I said, we all anthropomorphize on here at some time or another. Saying so doesn’t mean I think you’re stupid. I just think in this situation putting it those terms will make it harder for you to find the solution to your problem.
It sounds like he lets you handle him easily enough but I wonder if your picking him up and putting him in the situation that seems to terrify him is reinforcing the behavior. If you are willing to work with him I am sure someone else on here could help you. I am going to tag a couple people I think might be able to help.
@Twilia @MysteryChicken @LaFleche @Shadrach

 

[MysteryChicken]

I am sure there is something herbal you could mellow him out with but I also think that is a band-aid. There is either a reason he is acting that way or it is genetic. If there is a reason and it can be fixed wouldn’t that be preferable? Perhaps some of the other articles about roosters on here would be helpful because there are lots of methods for calming down an aggressive (fearful) rooster. Like I said, we all anthropomorphize on here at some time or another. Saying so doesn’t mean I think you’re stupid. I just think in this situation putting it those terms will make it harder for you to find the solution to your problem.
It sounds like he lets you handle him easily enough but I wonder if your picking him up and putting him in the situation that seems to terrify him is reinforcing the behavior. If you are willing to work with him I am sure someone else on here could help you. I am going to tag a couple people I think might be able to help.
@Twilia @MysteryChicken @LaFleche @Shadrach

Could just he his personality type, or he may have some sort of mental issue. Animals can have mental disorders as well.

I can suggest Cat Nip. It has calming effects, as well as Chamomile. Could steep it like tea, or feed as is.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Could just he his personality type, or he may have some sort of mental issue. Animals can have mental disorders as well.

I can suggest Cat Nip. It has calming effects, as well as Chamomile. Could steep it like tea, or feed as is.

I had an anxious dog once. He didn’t necessarily act afraid but he would bark if things in the house changed or got moved. Eventually he became aggressive. I worked with a trainer who told me that even with medication and training he would always be anxious. Because of the kids and the attitude of my older dog (who was not anxious but was a quarter his size and would NOT submit) we ended up having to rehome him. The guy that adopted him was the calmest, most sensitive, soft-spoken person and the dog ended up thriving in his new environment with his new owner and another big dog. His anxiety was exacerbated by his living situation. Had I realized the signs when he was younger I would have called a trainer before it got to that point.