Is it better for chicks to be in a group of two or three

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kenzieschickens

kenzieschickens

Hatching
Dec 5, 2016
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Today I gave one of my friends Two, one week old chicks one is a blue cooper marran and the other is a splash marran but the splash pecks the blue copper (not enough to bring blood or Take feathers just pecking) but I was just wondering if it was just doing it to be mean or if there was a reasoning and if it could aventually harm the blue copper. I was also wondering if I should give her 1 more because I feel like two is not enough
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Three chicks would be likely better. It will take the "heat" off the chick being pecked, and in the long term will ensure that your friend is not left with one lone chicken, should anything happen to a bird. Enriching the brooder (a tree branch, hanging a CD, for example) may also help reduce the pecking.
 
Sometimes that doesn't work instead you end up with 2 chicks beating up the other. Chickens seem wired to pick up bad habits instead of good ones.
 
@Drumstick diva
I'm going to ask my freind tomorrow if she would like another but I will try and give her one of my tinyer ones. Of the 2 I have already given her the splash marran (the one who is pecking) is allittle bigger than the blue copper marran (the one who is being pecked) do you think that could be part of the problem?
 
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I think 3 is better than 2...less chance of ending up with a lone bird if something goes wrong. I like CTKen's suggestion of adding something of interest to their environment.
 
I found this trick accidentally when I got my first chicks. I'd forgotten to put some marbles in their waterer so they wouldn't drown, so I bought a bag of big ones. As I leaned down with a handful of them, a couple dropped out of my hand and onto the floor of the brooder. At first you'd have thought some scary alien had just descended down on them - they ran to the opposite side of the brooder like their hineys were on fire. I just sat back and watched - soon one chick when over and pecked at the shiny marble. It moved!! He did it again. It moved again!! Wow - chicken soccer!! They really enjoyed those stupid marbles!!

So distractions DO work!!
 
Blooie said:
I found this trick accidentally when I got my first chicks. I'd forgotten to put some marbles in their waterer so they wouldn't drown, so I bought a bag of big ones. As I leaned down with a handful of them, a couple dropped out of my hand and onto the floor of the brooder. At first you'd have thought some scary alien had just descended down on them - they ran to the opposite side of the brooder like their hineys were on fire. I just sat back and watched - soon one chick when over and pecked at the shiny marble. It moved!! He did it again. It moved again!! Wow - chicken soccer!! They really enjoyed those stupid marbles!!

So distractions DO work!!
Click to expand...
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Your story reminded me of the last time we set up a brooder full of chicks...we put a length of 4" or 5" plastic tubing in it and those little chicks had so much fun chasing each other through it or hopping on top of it. One of them adopted the tube as her napping spot.
 
N F C said:
gig.gif


Your story reminded me of the last time we set up a brooder full of chicks...we put a length of 4" or 5" plastic tubing in it and those little chicks had so much fun chasing each other through it or hopping on top of it. One of them adopted the tube as her napping spot.
Click to expand...
I may steal that one!
 

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