3 week old chicks killing each other

[WalkingOnSunshine]

That's definitely NOT pecking damage. That's weasel or rat damage. A weasel or rat can get through a 1" space. If a chick's head can fit through, a weasel can get in.

Neck damage is characteristic of a weasel or rat. It's not characteristic of pecking damage, which is usually at the base of the tail.

 

[chickenladylaur]

I would definitely agree that it is not by another chick, but I would say it's much more likely a rat or a mouse. I've seen rats and mice go so far as to chew at one of my calves ears in the middle of the night. If it were a weasel, I believe it would have completely beheaded the chick. I think the best thing for you to do right now is to relocate the remaining chicks somewhere where you know there are no rodents until you can find a way to get rid of them. I'm sorry about your loss and I wish you luck!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If the chicks killed each other, all the damage would be on top of their heads or maybe on their backs. Of this I am 100% sure. But at that age it is common for every chick in a clutch to tie up in a bloody peck fight while they sort out the pecking order. This results in bloody heads for all but little else.

Most animals are unable to recognize red light as light, thus they carry on like there was no light. That is why varmint hunters use a red spot light at night to illuminant their target, red light doesn't alarm varmints but you and I can see OK in red light. The same thing works on chicks in a brooder, causing them to think that they are under the mother hen and causing them to stay relatively quite in he absence of outside light..

 

[Sally Sunshine]

That's definitely NOT pecking damage. That's weasel or rat damage. A weasel or rat can get through a 1" space. If a chick's head can fit through, a weasel can get in.

Neck damage is characteristic of a weasel or rat. It's not characteristic of pecking damage, which is usually at the base of the tail.

Agreed! Weasels can be devastating. We have them in the blue mnts of PA! DH thinks I am nuts when I close every single centimeter with wire!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

And they go for the neck area

http://fishinabarrelpond.com/2011/04/10/weasel-in-the-chicken-coop/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/728632/weasel-attack-with-photographs-of-victim

 

[donrae]

If the chicks killed each other, all the damage would be on top of their heads or maybe on their backs. Of this I am 100% sure. But at that age it is common for every chick in a clutch to tie up in a bloody peck fight while they sort out the pecking order. This results in bloody heads for all but little else.

Most animals are unable to recognize red light as light, thus they carry on like there was no light. That is why varmint hunters use a red spot light at night to illuminant their target, red light doesn't alarm varmints but you and I can see OK in red light. The same thing works on chicks in a brooder, causing them to think that they are under the mother hen and causing them to stay relatively quite in he absence of outside light..

I've raised chicks for 20 years and never had this!

And I agree, that's predator damage. You know it was one unhappy predator it didn't get the bird through the fence to eat it!

 

[debid]

If the chicks killed each other, all the damage would be on top of their heads or maybe on their backs.  Of this I am 100% sure.  But at that age it is common for every chick in a clutch to tie up in a bloody peck fight while they sort out the pecking order.  This results in bloody heads for all but little else.


Most animals are unable to recognize red light as light, thus they carry on like there was no light.  That is why varmint hunters use a red spot light at night to illuminant their target, red light doesn't alarm varmints but you and I can see OK in red light.  The same thing works on chicks in a brooder, causing them to think that they are under the mother hen and causing them to stay relatively quite in he absence of outside light..   

The claim that animals cannot see red light is common but untrue. I put chicks in an outdoor brooder with a red light and they were not only able to see, they could see well enough to catch flying insects! It may be that it is more soothing than stark white light but it is not somehow invisible to them.

And I haven't seen the big pecking incidents you are claiming to be common either. In fact, most chick squabbles went only as far as chasing and staring down.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

The claim that animals cannot see red light is common but untrue. I put chicks in an outdoor brooder with a red light and they were not only able to see, they could see well enough to catch flying insects! It may be that it is more soothing than stark white light but it is not somehow invisible to them.

And I haven't seen the big pecking incidents you are claiming to be common either. In fact, most chick squabbles went only as far as chasing and staring down.

I agree. I've brooded hundreds of chicks, and have never once had blood drawn by three week old chicks. If you have chicks that are pecking each other bloody, this is a space issue. Overcrowding causes more pecking problems than anything else, in any age flock.

 

[theoldchick]

Game fowl chicks are known for cannibalism but they usually target the rectal area of their victim. The picture is see here are not typical of chicks attacking another. Kinda looks like a rat stopped by.

 

[hendrixcoop]

Thanks for all of the advice. Space was not an issue, the pen was 4'X8' with 5 chicks. Whatever it was did not bother the 6 big chickens, adjacent to the pen, in chicken wire. The remaining chicks are in the house in a brooder container and no further issues.

I am leaning toward rat, cat, squirrel. It appeared to do the work from outside the pen, which is confusing. In order to eliminate the problem, I intend to place rat traps and small predator cages, which should cover the spectrum of possible offenders.

If nothing else, it has been an experience in predators and taught me a lesson about securing ALL of my pens and coops, while also providing inviting traps for future visitors. Thankfully my learning curve is on mutts and before I got into Barnevelders & $$.

Hopefully in the near future I will have pictures of suspects in the same position as my chicks, stiff and laying in a plastic bag. The warrior's method of relocation.