Chick with presumed pecking wound

[MenervaGladysandPenny]

Hello!

I have 3 week old chicks. I noticed one has a presumed small pecking injury on her face. I noticed it today when we were holding her. It’s a bit red but not actively bleeding, about the size of a pea. I cleaned it and applied hen healer. The chicks took an immense interest in this, and most of the hen healer is gone. I’ve been keeping an eye on the chick and otherwise she is doing well. I have noticed an occasional peck to her wound. I want to put on a thick layer of hen healer, but am wondering if I should leave it alone for now. What are your thoughts? How aggressive should I be with intervening again?

I’m getting them into a bigger brooder in the next few days. They are currently @ 1sq/ft per bird, and I am moving them to 2sq/ft per bird. I haven’t noticed any other picking or abnormal behavior.

Thank you for your time!

 

[nuthatched]

The barred rocks are definitely the problem birds here. Separate them and see what happens

I doubt the Sussex’s have anything to do with this but I’d watch them as well.

You can't make blanket statements across breeds, birds are individuals.

 

[nuthatched]

Can you get a picture, please?

 

[BastyPutt]

The barred rocks are definitely the problem birds here. Separate them and see what happens

I doubt the Sussex’s have anything to do with this but I’d watch them as well.

You can't make blanket statements across breeds, birds are individuals.

Safe to presume they are ALL partaking in the picking. Once there is an open sore like that in the brooder they will all lock onto it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I am using 2 brinsea heating plates. The low this week is 37 degrees and 40 degrees, highs of 70s, with the lows rising to 50s after the weekend. Im concerned about putting them in the garage with the heat plates with that low of temperature outside. And was planning on waiting a few more days.

Assuming the garage is same as outdoor temps (likely not, but, if that is the case) I would wait until after the weekend, unless you know the heating plates will work for sure at those temperatures. Many of them are designed to work optimally at 50F and up.

 

[BastyPutt]

Yeah the first night using a heating pad is the hardest, especially since I brood outdoors so it could be raining, windy, etc. on top of being cool.

Chicks actually are more tolerant of cold spells than people think. Even when my pad shut off overnight (due to the outlet used, took me a bit to realize that one of the outlets is unrealible) I've never lost a chick.

Oh wow. Okay, that is great news.

I have some Seramas incubating and just ordered my first quail chicks from Hoovers. I'll start looking up some DIY mama pads and give one a shot.

(The quails cost an arm and a leg, so I'll try the seramas! )

 

[StripeyThing_1]

Barred rocks are an aggressive breed in general and EE’s are very docile which could very well be the problem, another thing is stress. Feather plucking usually occurs the most when they are at a time of stress. Giving them a bigger brooder will definitely relieve a lot of stress.

I would also put some chick friendly toys in there that they can peck at.

 

[Yah]

It probably was an accident. Just separate it and let it heal before letting it go back out with others.

 

[StripeyThing_1]

What breeds are these chicks?
How many birds are there?
How many of what genders are there?

The breeds matter, if you have a docile breed with an aggressive breed, that might be the reason this is happening.
Or if you have two different aggressive breeds that could also be an issue.

 

[BastyPutt]

From what I understand some may fail to function properly. Under 50F, mama heating pads seem to be a more reliable way to go (I routinely use mine under 50F).

I have wanted to try them or a mama pad but my anxiety just goes through the roof with I think about it. I have the worst fear of coming out to a brooder full of dead chicks because that thing failed.

The mama pad does look great. Just a matter of building one.