Chick injury/separation and reintegration

[Scchickenmom]

We are new to chickens and have 11 chicks in a brooder in our house. 4 Polish are having their poor heads picked on by someone and I feel like it’s one of the week older girls, either a GC or Cinnamon Queen. I have treated their sweet head with blu-kote and have all 4 plus another GC (who is growing like Clifford the Big Red Dog and causing the box to be way too small) all in a large dog kennel right beside the 2 potential bullies and the remaining 4 barred rock. I know that by using the blu-kote that will keep most of the pecking down and that they could go back in, I’m just concerned that there really isn’t enough room and it would be better to keep them separated until they move to the coop. The Polish and Barred Rock are almost 4 weeks old and have most of their feathers and I believe could go outside after this weekend. With the 2 bins together and only separated by wire, will it be difficult to put them all back together when they move outside? We are having rain all week or I could have them spend time out in the run together as a way to get around some of the problem. Thanks so much for any advice to a very obsessive new chicken mom

 

[aart]

I know that by using the blu-kote that will keep most of the pecking down

Ehhh, maybe.... bluekote might keep the pecking down, but I've seen it also attract peckers.

If they are crowded move them to the coop, more space is always better.
Do you have other chickens, or are these chicks the only ones?

 

[Scchickenmom]

Ehhh, maybe.... bluekote might keep the pecking down, but I've seen it also attract peckers.

If they are crowded move them to the coop, more space is always better.
Do you have other chickens, or are these chicks the only ones?

These are our only (and first) chicks. They’ve been raised together except we had the 2 GC and 1 Cinnamon Queen a week earlier. We are going to be getting 4 easter egger pullets from a friend in a few weeks which I’m sure is a whole different topic. My only concern with moving them is Fri-Mon night lows are in the 40’s. We don’t have electricity to the coop though I guess we could set a heat light with electric cord for just those nights. Am I being too over protective and silly about all of this?

 

[aart]

These are our only (and first) chicks. They’ve been raised together except we had the 2 GC and 1 Cinnamon Queen a week earlier.

How old are these chicks?
How big is your coop, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would be most helpful here.

We are going to be getting 4 easter egger pullets from a friend in a few weeks which I’m sure is a whole different topic.

Yes, it is.
Again coop size and age of birds is important.
Integration works best with extra space.

 

[Scchickenmom]

How old are these chicks?
How big is your coop, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would be most helpful here.


Yes, it is.
Again coop size and age of birds is important.
Integration works best with extra space.

How old are these chicks?
How big is your coop, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would be most helpful here.


Yes, it is.
Again coop size and age of birds is important.
Integration works best with extra space.

The Golden Comets and Cinnamon Queen are 5 weeks and the Polish and Barred Rock are 4 weeks. I just got word my Easter eggers are hatching

The whole enclosure is 16’ x 16’. The coop part of it is 4’ x 16’ and the run part is 12’ x 16’. When we are home I will let them out to explore, but we have too many predators to leave them be unsupervised.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Nice solid coop but there's nowhere near enough ventilation for 15 (11 + 4) birds (do I have the totals right?), unless I'm not seeing it, or unless it hasn't yet been added.

Where are you located climate wise? The inside run wall is a great place to open up and add more ventilation.

You may realistically need to consider building a completely separate set up for the Polish. Due to their head feathers they can get bullied and scalped by other breeds, and you're already seeing issues. Hard to say for sure with chicks as it could merely be overcrowding or boredom in the brooder as the main culprit right now (you don't specify age of chicks, size of brooder), but when it comes to Silkies and Polish, sometimes it just doesn't work out for them to be in a flock with other breeds.

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree - the polish may never fit with the rest. Being raised together has almost no influence on chicken behavior the older they get.

I would put them out in the coop. As long as you have wind protection, a tote laid on its' side will work - I would add one to the run. But as long as you have wind protection, you do not need heat after 3 weeks. I do raise my chicks cool, but chickens can really take a wide swing of temperatures.

I would put them outside asap - and watch. Maybe they will work it out, the space should help. But maybe the polish won't work with those breeds.

Mrs K

 

[Scchickenmom]

Nice solid coop but there's nowhere near enough ventilation for 15 (11 + 4) birds (do I have the totals right?), unless I'm not seeing it, or unless it hasn't yet been added.

Where are you located climate wise? The inside run wall is a great place to open up and add more ventilation.

You may realistically need to consider building a completely separate set up for the Polish. Due to their head feathers they can get bullied and scalped by other breeds, and you're already seeing issues. Hard to say for sure with chicks as it could merely be overcrowding or boredom in the brooder as the main culprit right now (you don't specify age of chicks, size of brooder), but when it comes to Silkies and Polish, sometimes it just doesn't work out for them to be in a flock with other breeds.

The two windows are full size house windows that push fully out and are screened with hardware cloth for ventilation.

We are in Aiken, South Carolina and I am by nature hot blooded. I did just finally talk to a friend that raises chickens and send her pics and she agreed with putting them outside.

I’m afraid the Polish will have to go if I asked my husband to build another coop, LOL. This one was started in February and we still have to get the pop door and the roosting bars in for the inside to be done and one more strip of hardware cloth around the ground in for the outside to be done. He would literally kill me or make me sleep with them!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The two windows are full size house windows that push fully out and are screened with hardware cloth for ventilation.

We are in Aiken, South Carolina and I am by nature hot blooded. I did just finally talk to a friend that raises chickens and send her pics and she agreed with putting them outside.

I’m afraid the Polish will have to go if I asked my husband to build another coop, LOL. This one was started in February and we still have to get the pop door and the roosting bars in for the inside to be done and one more strip of hardware cloth around the ground in for the outside to be done. He would literally kill me or make me sleep with them!

2 windows isn't enough for a climate that has hotter summers. For winters too, you want some vents up as high as possible to allow moisture and ammonia to escape. @3KillerBs is in the Carolinas and has a lot of good information about ventilation. The good news is with your build adding more shouldn't be too difficult.

Yeah that's the unfortunate reality with decorative breeds like the Polish. Yes some folks have them with their standard birds and don't have problems, but others find these poor birds constantly bald because the rest of the flock pulls the feathers out. So it becomes necessary to house them separately if that problem persists.

 

[3KillerBs]

We are in Aiken, South Carolina and I am by nature hot blooded. I did just finally talk to a friend that raises chickens and send her pics and she agreed with putting them outside.

Welcome to BYC. from the NC Sandhills.

Here's my article on Hot Climate chicken-keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

And my article on Ventilation -- which is absolutely CRITICAL here in the Steamy Southeast: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/