Aggressive behaviour

[Lucylou]

Can anyone help with this problem please. probably more for future info as the poor chook's fate has probably been decided

I had 7 chooks (came as young 10/12 weeks)
When I was on holiday (so I didn't actually witness this so this it what was described to me) one of the lower ranking chooks was badly attacked by the others, blood was drawn & he was rescued kept in a separate area.

A couple of weeks later it became apparent that 3 of my chooks were in fact Boys & one of these was the injured one. He is still separated in a pen withing the main run. His injury is healing but the wound hasn't healed on his head yet, some feathers are starting to regrow.

So, 2 boys have been removed now & I thought the poorly one could rejoin the flock now being the only boy. I re-introduced him yesterday & within a couple of minutes he was being attacked again. He was attempting to stick up for himself but his head was already bleeding so I removed him again.

He is now back in his pen but the others are even trying to peck him through the wire

Can anyone give any insight into this behaviour? I thought a cockerel would be the top of the pack no matter what. It seems they just can't get on with him or is it something biological?

Many Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

I suspect that his injury from where the other 2 cockerals attacked him before caused your others hens to peck and attack him when re-introduced.
At this time of year cockerals fertility is lower and so their masculinity isn't as strong as spring and during the summer.Plus,he's a young cockeral so can be intimidated.Once the wound started to bleed the hens would have pecked mercilessly at the blood.
If you've got some gentian purple spray,next time you're letting him mix with them,spray some on his wound so they are not attracted to it straight away.
If possible,when you do want to re-introduce them together,is it possible to put the hens in with him,so they are being put into his territory,this would give him a stronger footing.

 

[Tim]

How old is he now Lucylou and what breed? My guess is he is still immature?

Apart from this, some cockerels in some breeds can be a bit -well- soft... :roll:

Chickens are creatures of habbit and of routine. They have short memories and a sick chicken taken away will soon be forgotten and have re-introduction 'issues' on their return, even if only a couple of days later.

If possible, I would change their house / run so that none of them are on 'their' territory when re-introduced also, try to keep him in the separate area of the run, behind wire so they can get used to him (sounds like you're doing this already), then, introduce him to the house at night when it's dark so they can wake up 'gradually' with him but be around when it gets light to let them out as soon as possible.

Give them all as much space as you can, this may mean letting them free range for a few days.

Only re-introduce him when he's fully recovered and expect some pecking, but once blood is draw and he's bleeding, you need to either clean him up and stop the bleeding or take him out. It's hard to watch sometimes, they can be pretty evil but it usually gets better fairly quicker - most new introductions take a week to two weeks before they are a 'flock'.

If he is still immature, as he grows, he will stand up for himself more until he may be the one doing the bullying at first when introduced! Once he learns how to put his neck feathers out and stand his ground / fight, he will be on a whole different level to the hens.

 

[Lucylou]

Thanks Lydia & Tim. This just has me baffled! Just as I think I'm getting to grips with things something new comes along!

My poor cockerel is approx 23ish weeks old, about 4 weeks younger than the 2 who 'went away' . Although the younger one & considerably smaller than the other 2, he was the first to crow!

When I re-introduced him & the aggression started he did put up his neck feathers & was doing his best to defend himself but blood had been drawn already so I thought it best to remove him. The wound from before just reopened without much pecking. It had gentian violet on it too, so I don't think it was the colour that drew attention in the first place.I'm also wondering if the original damage was too severe as it seems not to have healed very well.

I feel so sorry for him, he's been so sweet from the begining but I think his days are numbered. Its not certain if we can keep a cockerel anyway as the crowing could get too much for the neighbours so we may just be prolonging the agony

 

[Anonymous]

Oh Lucylou I'm so sorry ,I do hope you can keep him.
Anyway,regarding his wound,there are quite a few things you can try to encourage healing,what do you use to bathe it with?
Is it worth perservering and waiting to see if he does cause a problem with your neighbours?I realise how lucky I am with my cockerel,and hope you can arrange something that you're happy with.Good luck.

 

[Tim]

Hi Lucylou,

When you introduce any new chickens, there will be aggression - this is perfectly normal until the pecking order is re-established. I do sometimes tell people to let them 'fight it out a bit' but it is risky once blood is drawn.

With my cockerels, they would have killed one another earlier in the year - but now I have them all in the same area - eating together - this has taken very careful introductions though - in my case, I have opened their runs and let them wander into one another's territories and they would squabble a little but run back to their own territory. They eventually got used to the idea over a few weeks and then I started shutting them out of their individual houses and put them in one house at night - a new house though that is none of their territory. They are all happy together now because they had no territory to defend and they were all already happy in the one big run together during the day.... There are no hens to squabble over and they get along fine, even calling to one another over tit bits. It's amazing what a change in attitudes they have.

All of this to say, a situation that looks hopeless now could be very different in a few weeks time.

I would do the following.

1. Reintroduce him - look for the ring leader amongst the hens.
2. Remove the ringleader - see how he fares
3. Slowly remove aggressive hens until he is winning the battles (the hens are backing down and running off). Remove him and add him to the coop at night

The way the pecking order works is the 'boss' at the top will usually challenge first, others will join in until the boss backs off and then they will usually realise that if the higher hen has backed off then they too should back off. So you are slowly going through the pecking order from highest hen to a point where your cockerel is higher.

4. Leave them to squable as much as you can at first light - during a fight, a little blood is sometime inevitable - but once they have split up and calmed a little, you will need to stop the bleed before leaving them alone.
5. Once he is accepted by the lower hens, re-introduce the hens - last out, first back in. So the main ring leader in 2. above goes back last. Again, reintroduce them at night.
6. Leave a gap between the re-introductions so they can get used to the newcomers one at a time.

If possible, keep them all in the same area but with wire dividing them - as you are doing already.

Make sure there are lots of distractions and lots of space to run - treats are good = throwing corn nearby when there is a fight is a good distraction.

Good luck...I know it's hard to watch.

 

[Lucylou]

Thank you so much for this info Tim. I'm going to persevere as long as poss so will do as you suggest. I have considered letting them all out of the run together to see what happens when they're all on unfamiliar territory but I'm worried that the 2 flighty ones will do just that & fly off At the mo there doesn't seem to be a 'head girl'. Since the 2 boys left they seem to be undecided who going to be boss, but it is less than a week.

The neighbours quite like my chooks (last year when I had the bantum she decided to try the neighbours bird seed so flew over the fence & had a fine old time!! :lol: they were quite laid back about it.) But a crowing cockerel is quite another thing so we'll see.

Lydia, I haven't touched the wound beyond making sure its covered with the gentian spray (can't remember what the actual name on the can is) Do you have any suggestions? The feathers are starting to grow (at least the hard spines are (I think that's what they are) but the badly pecked area is bald & the skin doesn't seem to be recovering. He's perfectly fine otherwise, eating & drinking etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Lucylou,for a wound that is actually bleeding or open,I would use a salt solution.The dose is 1 5ml spoon into a pint of water,although I don't usually measure the salt.I just put quite a bit into a cup or jug and I use boiling water and wait for it to cool down so is only tepid.
To encourage healing and re-growth of skin/hair/feathers etc I would try either aloe vera gel made by forever living products or cornucrescine.Cornucrscine is cheaper than aloe vera gel,it should be under £5.00 for a small tub that lasts a very long time.It is available in equestrian suppliers,when I was younger there was only one type of cornucrescine available,it is a hoof ointment but does actually encourage re-growth of nails and hair.I haven't tried it on birds myself,but,I would certainly give it a try.
Now,there is a cornucrscine specifically for hair re-growth which I think could work just as well on birds.
It is very thick,like tar,but you would only need to smear a small bit on,and apply morning and evening.It also works well on human nails,if you smear it on your cuticles.I've used it in the past,also suitable for dogs nails etc.

 

[Tim]

I've stiched up a few chooks skin and used salted water as Lydia suggests to wash the area. Chickens heal incredibly well and it's rare to have infection. For small bleeds, I actually just isolate them and usually it will clot and scab quite quickly without intervention. Bleeding pushes bacteria out - it's a natural defence for the body, so I try not to interfere too much unless the bleed is getting soiled in some way.

With feather re-growth, it is very, very slow but as long as the area is not bleeding and not being pecked / attacked by others, there's no harm usually.

 

[nnbreeder]

Often times the #1 hen will not show aggression. That is #2s job. The #2 hen will try to please the top hen and together they will maintain their dominance.

Look for a lot of vocalization as the top hen uses this as a control. When treats are given look for a hen that will peck the other hens at random. #1 will often be kinda by herself so she can watch the others as well. and at night she will go to roost first so she gets a prime spot. In fact if there are multiple roosts she will be on the highest one and beside the rooster. If there are the two roosters she may be between them.

If I have to introduce a new rooster to the flock the hens will each take a turn at the new guy. I have to sit there and watch them close or they will do the poor guy in.

The breed of the birds plays a big role in this too. Some breeds like the Orpingtons or Australorps are not known to show agressive traits. Rhode Island Reds and any that were devoloped from them like the Production Reds can tend to be agressive.