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fangedknight said:
Guys I have a problem and I'm trying not to freak out but I am. One of my GLW is dead. I found the body this morning. It looks like it's been pecked at and there's feathers all over the brooder. I don't know what to do right now because all I've heard is once they get the taste for chicken they're never the same. Help!
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how old is the vicitm? How old are the others? Is there a roo?
 
I love turkeys. I want to raise a few more royal palms for my breeding pen, so I loaned 2 poults to a friend for his granddaughter to raise. He loved them, said they got much tamer than the chicks or ducklings. So, they came back to me last night and I put them into a brooder with a partial wire cover. They seemed fine this morning, but noisy. Tonight I found the brooder empty and started searching the room. They weren't hiding, just perched on a cart and obviously glad to see me. They didn't like getting put back into their brooder, but they didn't fight me, just whistled their discontent at my ending their outing. These 2 are going to be fun to raise.
 
Day 10 of incubation for the first go at my meat project. Started w 28 eggs and I think I had 3 clear and 3 blood ring, the rest look good! I really hope we have a good hatch, I am so anxious to see how this cross comes out (and I'll likely have a few pure delaware in the mix too)
 
Took out the low gate. The kids can get over it now, so there is no point to it. And Mama Niko wants them out. So, out they can come.
Started fermented feed today. I hope I did it right. It is about the consistency of thick oatmeal.
 
fangedknight said:
Okay so a bit of good news. I looked over our victim and so far it seems like one of the hens, as far as I can tell she hasn't been eaten. Looks like her siblings were pulling her feathers and trying to figure out what happened.
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It isn't unusual for them to mess with a deceased flock members, it usually starts as curiosity but it can turn cannibalistic, especially if any open wounds were there to begin with. I know we all like to think of the chicks as cute, fluffy and innocent but they are still creatures of instinct and food is food, no matter what form it is or was, they don't really have any concept of mourning or loss, though they do fuss if they themselves are left alone, they do react to that. They are creatures of habit, so loss of a particular flock partner will cause their routine to change, which they don't like.
 
My mother hen started pecking at her chicks on Monday. On Wednesday she left the temp run and went back with the flock. The littles are about a month old. Is it normal for then to be tired of chicks that early?? She had started to lay about 6 days before "flying the coop"
 

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