Chick Aggression, what to do?

[Silver Chick]

So my first batch of chickens I've ever raised in an incubator, had a difficulty but that's all okay now. Yet, another problem. There are only two chicks at the moment, one of which had to be helped out of the egg. The first one is now attacking the second, there is't anything wrong with this chick now, it's looking very healthy. I've put a wooden divided in the crate to stop this from happening, i do have two questions about this though.

1.) Will this chick be aggressive towards new chicks that hatch?

2.) Will they become friendly with each other? or will i have to raise them apart, dividing my hatch into two?

 

[TurkenMomma]

I am having a similar problem. I received 8 extra Barred males in my most recent order, and find that not only are they twice the size of my Silkie chicks, they are all picking on them. I have been trying to find new things to introduce them too. Yesterday it was a big stick, this morning a mirror, etc. I am finding that it is helping. Maybe try that? Since doing that, I've noticed they've stopped the bullying for the most part.

 

[azygous]

Chicks are funny little critters. It doesn't take much for one to begin obsessing about something. But you can nip it in the bud.

First of all, most people make the mistake of placing their chicks in a brooder that's much too small. Even chicks just out of the egg will benefit from having plenty of space. They are also very curious and will also benefit from having lots of little distractions, such as shiny tape stuck to the sides of the brooder, shiny marbles scattered about, and the mirror is another great device.

In addition, too much bright light increases stress, and can aggravate this behavior. I recommend the heating pad system of brooding chicks and it has many other benefits besides eliminating the heat lamp and all its inherent dangers. Read about it on the "Mama heating pad in the Brooder" thread on this forum.

But back to nipping the pecking in the bud. You need to be very gentle, but when you see the aggression taking place, and even right before it occurs, give the culprit a quick, but gentle, peck with your finger on its back. Try to spend a bit of time on this, and you should have the behavior corrected within a day or two.