Help!! Baby chicks are being aggressive!

[AGeese]

Isolate the bullie. I used a wire mesh trash can turned upside down in the middle of the brooder. I had to do this for about a day or 2, before she straighted out, and realized it was better to be nice and warm with her mates.

That said make sure you have enough heat for them. My situation was a fluke. She's now one of my nicest old Buckeyes, but don't challenge her.

 

[_ss233]

At this point culling for this behavior seems extreme to me

Isolate the bullie. I used a wire mesh trash can turned upside down in the middle of the brooder. I had to do this for about a day or 2, before she straighted out, and realized it was better to be nice and warm with her mates.

That said make sure you have enough heat for them. My situation was a fluke. She's now one of my nicest old Buckeyes, but don't challenge her.

She is mostly friendly with the others. It’s most directed to me/my husband when we try to open their brooder for socializing etc. but I did consider isolating the two I’m noticing issues with and putting them in a separate brooder. I was just somewhat worried reintroducing them would be problematic

 

[AGeese]

Maybe you can spend some time holding them each for a while?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I once had a chick that would play fight with my hand every time I went to give more food, & water.
It grew up into a beautiful friendly rooster.

 

[_ss233]

At this point culling for this behavior seems extreme to me.

Oops I think I replied to the wrong person. I had the same thoughts about that comment though.

 

[AntiqueB]

Are you sure it's aggression? At that age, they should be more playful than anything, looking for treats and checking to be sure your hand isn't edible. Think of them as toddlers, putting everything in their mouths to check it out.

Do they have enough food and water? Pictures of the whole setup are helpful.

Do you ever take them out? I used to put an old sheet on the floor, surrounded by cardboard, and sit with them. Be mindful of your eyes, though. They will peck those, and possibly lips, too.

Don't take this the wrong way, but how old are your kids? Sometimes kids don't move slowly enough not to scare chicks, or are rougher with the babies than they think they are. I speak from experience; I caught my kid walking around outside, holding one of my chickens upside down by her leg, shortly after we got them.

 

[AGeese]

Are you moving around fast, spending much time with them? I had one act like that when her sisters were dying she was protecting them. Later she being the last chick was raised in my porch would continue to jump at my hand, but ultimately grew up to be the sweetest hen.

 

[DLA]

I've had good luck with just holding them down with one hand and gently grabbing feathers or fluff on the back of the neck and giving a little gentle shake. Also using my finger to peck them on the head. Not hard enough to hurt anyone. It's not about force, it's about the behavior. You have to emulate what a dominant chicken would do to one lower in the pecking order. Once they see you as the top of the pecking order that behavior should stop, if they challenge you again, do it again. Same goes for all family members that will interact with the chickens regularly. My 11 new ones are 14 1/2 weeks old now and one is a rooster and I also saw a little of that behavior early on. Now they all are pretty well mannered. If that doesn't fix it and the behavior continues or gets worse then that's another conversation. Roosters can get really stupid when they hit puberty so I expect some issues but so far, with mine, what I've done is working and he doesn't challenge me at all. I hope my experience with my young ones helps you.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

I spend a lot of time with the girls, no matter what age they are. With chicks, the more you touch them, pick them up, hold them, let them climb on you, snuggle them, the better. Talk to them, sing to them, spend as much time with them as you can. The rowdiest ones usually (but not always) turn out to be cockerels.

 

[HowIsItDone]

It’s stressing me out because we have kids and I really want friendly chickens. Is this behavior normal? How can I help settle them? I’ve been holding daily and interacting with them. But even walking in the room really seems to aggravate them and it’s making me sad. I have concerns the barred rock is a rooster based off behavior and size… help needed!

My barred rock hand raised rooster, as beautiful as he was, had to be turned into soup.

Set your limits. Protect your family.