redguinea
Chirping
How big is your brooder? (what are the dimensions?) What is the temp? Is there space where they can get away from the heat ?(down to about 70*) How old are the chicks? Pecking issues are often caused by too much heat (don't believe what "they" tell you. Chicks don't need as much heat as "they say". Pecking can also be caused by not enough space. Once started, it can develop into full blown cannibalism or long term feather picking. You might look into brooding with a heating pad. Though with a brood this big, you might need to separate them into 2 groups with 2 heating pads. The benefit of heating pad: Quicker feathering, normal day night cycles. The brooder will be what ever ambient temps are instead of being overheated by a heat lamp. This more closely mimics the "broody hen" experience, which results in chicks that are less likely to engage in pecking behaviors.
The brooder is 1metre long and half a metre wide and the roof is approximately 50cms high. They are 6 days old. The heat lamp is down one end, two food bowls so they aren't all crowding one and the water is at the other end but they all seem to know where the water and food is. The ones with both eyes shut haven't been eating because they cant see the food and ive been placing their beaks in the water so they can drink. Are the heat pads the ones used for reptiles? Do you cover the heat pad with bedding or just put it in? It seems like its the one chick that is trying to peck every other one so I took him out for a bit and they all were peaceful and as soon as he is back in there he goes for eyes. I tried putting a division between them but he wouldnt shut up and the other chicks stayed restless so I tried putting one chick in with him and he just attacked it.