Chicks with attitudes?

I am new to chickens... really new! I got these baby chicks on 7/18 and the feed store sales man said they were day old chicks... not sure how long they were day old chicks though!

If its true, then they are now approx 3 weeks old now.

One of the black chicks has a really bad attitude... or likes to peck everything really hard! everytime I put my hand in their box to lift them out, etc... big mean black bird comes over and pecks really hard at my hands and fingers. actually grabs skin too!

Is this normal? none of the others do this. They all (even Meanie aka Dinner if doesnt stop) let me hold them, and pet them. once Meanie is in my hands, he (I believe he may be a he) is checking things out and pretty calm. but as soon as I put him/her back and try to hold another ... he flies across the box and starts pecking at me again.

Is this part of them establishing pecking order? or are they even starting that yet? and if its a behaviour problem, is there any way to break him/her of it?

Also would be interested in finding out if they are only 3 weeks old... or maybe older. They doubled in size just in the past few days! are almost fully feathered now too.

here are more photos ... Mr Meanie doesnt peck at any of the other chicks, none of them seem to be pecking each other yet. so not sure if its a pecking order thing?

about the only time he/she doesnt attack me... is when there are treats to attack instead!

Mr Meanie also seems to be the most aggresive/ curious...of the bunch.
Tries to fly up on the water bottle and fly out of the box... etc. like he/she is always looking for a way out! hopped up my arm one day when I stuck my hand in the box....

You definitely have a "dominant" chick--sometime they are pullets, although I think it is more common with roos. I haven't had to deal with one that stayed that way. I suppose it could be a problem?

ugh! I think he/she is the one you all thought would be a roo... cause of the bigger splot of white on his head?
Thought maybe the attitude was just a result of DH calling him Dinner :o)

is there anyway to 'break' them of this habit?

You could try flicking em lightly with your finger......much like you did the kids when babies.......lol When older I have two 'fixes' 1) foot hook sling across yard (like you've seen us do to 'gatekeeper') or 2) Dinner (or camp freezer as some put it)

lolol! with my luck this will be the only hen out of the bunch!

well, like cat & PF said, ytou need to establish who is the boss. you are the MAMAchicken. you peck back, and HARDER! his head, his beak, his toes. flick him in the tail if you must! perfectly normal chick behavior, now you be a perfectly normal MAMAchicken. also, pick a phrase that shows your disapproval and use it. they will learn to listen. later it will be helpful if they try to eat something they shouldn't or are pecking at another chicken. i say "no-chick, no-chick, no-chick".

kinda important you use a repetitive tone like you were clucking with words...

sounds like the cf got you good!

Tf

lol, nope ... I only have four... ones named dinner or Shish Kabob! if she is a he :o)

but already designing coop and chicken pen for when we move :o) tee hee... I want lots of chickies and I want mommas to raise them....and roos too :o)
oh, and silkies and banties...and and and...lol!

do they really look only 3 weeks old?

To me they don't, because if you look online, there are some pix of 3-week-old chicks, for example, here:

http://pets.webshots.com/album/558902184LAlhPk

Yours look way bigger than that to me, and more feathered. I am a total newbie at this too, so don't take my word for it, but I'm just saying that's what I would guess. I would guess yours are probably 4 weeks old, or maybe even close to 5?

Claire

I have a mean roo too. He doesn't peck at me but when I go in the coop he flys around, especially if I'm petting the other chicks. They are all about 16 weeks old. When I first got him (2 weeks ago) he flew out of the cage when I was putting water in and got chased by the dogs. You would think he learned.....BUT NOOOO....this morning I was changing their water and he flew out of the coop and this time there was no cover from the dogs. They chased him all over the yard and finally caught him. I caught up with them and saved him....again. I think I'll call him 9 lives. You would think he would show some appreciation by now!

When do they start laying? I thought it was about that time so I put some golf balls in the nest and they are not showing any interest or signs.

Isnt it between 16 and 20 weeks they would start laying. So far so good here I dont have any mean ones yet but they are about 6 weeks old.

Here are some pics. This is Mr. 9 lives.

and the girls...I haven't named them yet :-O

1Angl - I had one that did grow out of that behavior - seemed like she just got big/calm enough not to be intimidated by my getting close. I just totally ignored the bad behavior and controlled the chicken (carried under my arm, stabilizing her head if she tried to peck). A roo might be harder to dominate. I go after 'em (Crocodile hunter style) with my finger pointed between their eyes, saying "Dumplin's" in a very UGLY tone of voice. Good luck with yours!

Mr 9 Lives and the girls are very handsome - time to name those girls though!

Thanks Claire. Glad you got Allie back.

Amy

OH?! Good news for Allie?!

anjl, i would call the feed store, ask what hatchery he uses, then look back to what week you bought them. ask if he had gotten them in the same week.... check the hatchery online or call them to see what day layers are hatched.... and presto! you have their Hatchday!!!

i will take a closer look. mine hatced 7/16, and i think yours are more feathered, Claires are less...

carrying that ROO around, under the arm, while you care for the other chickens, will keep him in his place. he won't be in a position to "protect" them from you...

tf

We had one like that. Pecked at us and clearly had an attitude. He is now about 5 months old and crowing, and yes, still pecking. He loves to chase the kids around the yard and they think it's hilarious because he is a Blue Cochin bantam. So there is this little black roo running after the kids as they run screaming...and laughing.

mine hatched around july 15 and they look about the same

the feed store had 2 shipments.. so in their brooder they had some that were one day olds...and some that were 2 week olds. I being a newbie...didnt know the difference :o0 just looked for cuteness... and ones I could catch! lol! they had about 200 of them running around!
If I would have known about the white dot on the heads.... oh well! lol!

I think I do have one lil Plymouth barred rock that was one of the 1 dya olds...she(!) is smaller and less feathered than the others.

none have feathered bottoms yet ....so maybe they are 4-5 weeks?

at any rate... I turned their light off on them today and they did okay... will keep it on at night cause temps still drop to 50s.... I want to get them outside this weekend....in that sunshine that I'm not allowed in!

We had a mean roo once..we thought it was funny how he would square off against anything...until he came at my (then) two year old daughter. Spurs out...right for her face. I launched him several hundred feet off my foot and then had chicken and dumplings (or was it noodles?) that night for supper. Since then I don't tolerate a bully in my flock.
I remember my husband and I thought we'd save a few pennies by ordering 50 roos from Murray McMurry. The plan was to butcher them for stewing chickens. I'll NEVER do that again. Our chickens, dogs and kids were all terrorized by those little buggers and the with the fighting and the crowing and the pecking, I never thought I'd see a peaceful day again. I can honestly say that was the first and ONLY time I've been THRILLED to send an animal (or 50) to be processed.

LOL omg Heidi. I can just imagine the chaos. I'll put that one in my list of things not to do for sure! Would have thought it would work - guess too much testosterone??? All trying to be king at once? I agree with the processed thrill, bet that was a relief!

Cheryl - Pea

well, I did start pecking him/her HARDER! and he/she... has backed down for the time being... so name is back to "Goose" for now (which would still make a yummy dinner! lol!)
I guess I will have to keep up on the pecking for a while to make sure he/she remembers I"M TOP HEN! lol! DD said I should have no problem proving that lol!

You got it sis! just like kids....lol
never, never, ever drop your guard! Or you will pay the price....

yay! I built the chicken run all by myself today! babies are now outside and boy oh boy did they love it! they were sunning themselves...and fighting ove the ant trail that was conveniently coming across their pen...and when I first put them to bed in their new coop...they were quiet and happy as clams...
I have a red light on them inside the coop... went to check on them a lil while agoa and they are all up chirping and pecking away at something... do they ever sleep? are they awake only cause the red light is on them?

they might be chilled, is there a draft? what surafce are they laying on? gorund temp? maybe give htem a nice fluffy towel...

runnin out to put a towel down!
they are on chicken wire bottom of cage...they didnt know to get up on the perches yet... but they'll learn :o) they are also right under the lamp
clamped lamp to the top of their roost and they are Not all huddled under it... but may be that they arent used to the wire bottom either!

oky, downloaded pix of the run that I built and designed all by my lonesome :o)
tee hee!

DGS is lovin it!

so are the chicks!

Hey sis, good job! Did better than some of mine.....lol That'll do til ya can get the rest of it finished, once no sun or piece by piece in the dark. Maybe something else to do will distract 'dinner'? Never can tell. Just remember, whack him every time...

lol, well Dinner is no longer top hen... tehe 'unnamed' red is now top hen...flys across yard and chases everyone back inside! lol!
I'm rooting for her and cheering her on! lol! just hope she is a SHE!

well, poick up the two reds, and check lenght of beak and appearance of comb...

great job!

my brooder has a wire floor, but a towel in the center, so each chick has the option of what to stand on. it takes some getting used to, and might be hard on feet at first...

looks like you got plenty of staples in your wire. now go out and give it a tug... if the staples aren't really, REALLY, did i say *REALLY* long, it will pull out too easily. you need a dark room to work in LOL

so glad you have your chicks! now get you some ducks ;-)

lol... those were 1" staples:D much to DHs horror, I used his air pressure staple gun cause the manual stapler jammed up up me :(
that whole project would have been alot simpler if he would have left me his tools! lol!
I bought a black n decker drill/driver...what a piece of junk! ugh! taking it back to HD today! will have DH buy me a REAL cordless driver/drill...one that has REAL power! lol!

YEAH! THAT'S THE WAY YOU DO IT!

okay another dumb newbie question....

the babies arent roosting on the rungs yet... they sleep on their towel on the bottom of the cage. do I need to teach them to perch or will they just do it automatically?

asking cause I havent put the plexigass sliding windows in the house yet, and the windows are low near where they re sleeping...dont they still need to be out of drafts?

They do need to be out of drafts, can you cover the window with a cloth?--but you don't have to teach them to roost--they will just want to one day. Just give them the opportunity:0)