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