Chicks pecking each other

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I have 10 4 week old chicks in a great dane sized crate. It looks like one of the americaunas is getting pecked at sometimes on her back and has no feathers there and had some bleeding. I just checked and they all seem settled. I took them out to our large coop and run today for a few hours, but now they are back in the crate with their red light. I am concerned about the americauna and it looks like they may have pecked at my other americauna a little also. We live in Malibu Canyon and have a BIG coyote problem (and owls and hawks) so I'm a little nervous to just let them run around --- although our property is fenced in. I'd love some feedback or guidance.... I'm very very new at this.... it's been 4 days to be exact!
 
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Hi eemabri and welcome to BYC! Sorry to hear they're giving you trouble already. I guess the honeymoon is over! lol

If one of them is injured enough to be bleeding, it is best to isolate her from the rest of the flock until she is FULLY healed. It's easiest on them if you move them at night as moves are very stressful. You should clean her wound(s) and then you can put an antibiotic ointment on it if you'd like (just be sure there is no pain killer in it, they'll be on the label as a "...caine" product). They heal very quickly but if left with the rest of the flock, they could severely injure or kill her.

Chicks grow so quickly and they might be a little too crowded in the dog crate about now. If you can cover the run with something (avian netting or plastic poultry netting, anything to keep out the birds of prey) that would let them hang out in the run in the daytime. Be sure your coop is protected with hardware cloth, not just chicken wire, to protect against the night time predators.

I hope this helps. Let us know if you have any other questions!
 
I am a newbie, but I have 11 weeks under my belt now and lots of advice from people on here. I would NOT let them out. If u have predator issues those chicks will b gone!! I would only let them out if u right there with them. If they r pecking it can b a few different things. Do they have enough room? Each chick should have about 1 ft of space in ur brooder. The red light is good. When I wanted my chicks to calm down (I have 28!) I would turn the red light on and it would calm them some. I think if they r pecking and eating the feathers that's a vitamin or protein defiency issue and u can fix that with meds, but I can't remember which ones to use at the moment. U can also try to put Blu-Kote (sp?) on where the feathers r gone because they r attracted to red and will keep pecking if the area is red. U can get that at a feed store or TSC. Hope this helps some!
 
The run and coop are all well enclosed--- outside but protected from outside animals. I guess I wasn't sure if the chicks are old enough to just hang out their during the day. Then I thought I could bring them in to the crate at night. Does that make sense? I will take the one americauna out who has been pecked at. Thank you so much~
 
OH I thought u were saying u were going to let them free range on ur property! Do u have older chickens out in the coop now? If u do u have to introduce the 2 groups without them being able to "get to" one another for a little bit so if u have bigger chicks they don't beat up the little ones. What r ur temps during the day and night? When u seperate the little americauna it might chirp cuz it's lonely. U can try to put a small stuffed animal in with it. Some people use feather dusters too. Did I help or confuse u more with my ramblings?? LOL
 
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They're plenty old enough to go outside AS LONG AS the temperatures at night are reasonable given their feathering. It should be around 60-70 degrees at night before they're allowed to sleep without a heat lamp at four weeks old.

When I introduce new babies to the Big Coop, I always confine them to the coop itself without access to the run for at least a week first. This familiarizes them with their new home, roosts and nest boxes. It will teach them where you expect them to go at night and where to lay eggs. They should have access to food and water at all times.

Week two, I let my adolescents out into the enclosed run for a week or two before free-ranging. Again, this reinforces the concept of "home" with them and they WILL return there at night. If you just let them out and expect them to figure it out on day one, you will find yourself looking a lot like Rocky Balboa in his training days, chasing chickens around at dusk. That's no fun.

We have ALL kinds of predators around here (here's a link to my blog so you can see the setting) http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/2011/05/virtual-tour-de-coop.html
I have had chickens for two years and they have always free-ranged. In two years we have lost only four to hawks. It is reasonable to expect losses if you free range but I would rather let them live as natural an existence as possible, wandering about, enjoying themselves outside than confine them to a run. I think the benefits FAR outweigh the risks. I have woods behind our coops, so there is plenty of cover for them to hide from hawks. If you don't have natural cover, consider constructing some places for them to be able to duck under when hiding is necessary (or just to get out of the sun on hot days!). We have raccoons, opossum (opposi?! lol) bears, coyote, fisher cats, bobcats and more around our area. I am confident that we can defend against most of them most of the time.

I have never lost a chicken to a nocturnal predator in the coop. It's important to reinforce the coop and run securely as chickens are completely defenseless at night.
Good luck and enjoy your new lawn ornaments!
smile.png
 
the chickens seem to be doing well today. one poster suggested putting powder on the back of the americauna that was being pecked, and it seems to be working. nobody's been pecking today. i wonder if they just needed to settle in. also, thanks for the information about acclimating them to their coops before the run.

our temperatures at night are still too cold i think. it gets into the 40s here in malibu... can you believe it!? so for now the chicks are inside my house with the red light. tonight it was pretty cute with 7 of the 10 chicks sleeping on the perch in their crate...snuggling nice and close. there was probably room on that perch for 7 more chicks! 3 were cuddled on the ground beneath the perch---who knew they'd be so cute!
 
Pecking often is caused by overcrowding and boredom. Give them 10 sq ft per bird in a run, dirt to scratch, things to climb on, tunnels to walk through, etc.
Their whole world is based on finding something and pecking it. If they only have each other and everywhere they turn they see another chicken, then that
is what they will peck.
I moved my chicks to an outside coop at three weeks. The temps dropped into the mid forties at night and I put a 60 watt bulb over them and they survived beautifully.
One week later I let them out into their run, where they now dig, scratch and hunt all day.

big_smile.png
 
really? they can manage with temps in the 40's? brrrr.... seems cold to me. maybe we'll try putting them out the end of this week. i'll be sure to include the red light we have. they do seem to like it. they had a great day yesterday and found 7 of them asleep on the perch this morning.... reallly cute! thanks for your input... btw, our coop and run are quite big, but i like the suggestion about things to climb on and thru and peck at .... makes sense! thanks again!!!
 

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