Help! Brand new Rhode island red chick trying to eat everyone else

[Sanderguy777]

I should add, a couple have just a tiny bit of waste clinging to their rears. Just a little bit. Is that something I should worry about? It's not blocking anything, but is definitely there.

Should I add a second heat emitter with a roosting bar they can sleep on and not sit in their own waste all night?

 

[NatJ]

Oh, I didn't clarify well. I'm talking about a chunk of sod. I'm starting a garden, so I have sod chunks I was thinking about tossing in with the chicks to occupy and nurture (and maybe inoculate) them. The grass is as tall as they are, but it's basically crab grass, so I think they'll be fine (let me know if not, can trim it with scissors). No seeds yet, but I will leave a patch or two with seed pods for them to browse for sure!

If the grass is attached to its roots and dirt, they can usually bite off pieces that are safe to swallow.

If you cut the grass (with scissors or a lawn mower) and give the cut pieces to chickens of any age, then they swallow whole pieces, of whatever length you cut it at-- and sometimes that is long enough to make tangles in their crop and get stuck there, not able to go further down but blocking any other food from going down too. If that does happen, and you don't fix it somehow, the bird will eventually starve to death.

and I'll definitely be adding that dirt and grass. How much should I add? Like 8x8"? Brooder is about 2x3'.

Whatever size chunk you have conveniently available. If it rains and the sod chunks get wet, don't put a soggy muddy mess into the brooder. A bit damp can be fine if it there is still plenty of dry space in the brooder.

I should add, a couple have just a tiny bit of waste clinging to their rears. Just a little bit. Is that something I should worry about? It's not blocking anything, but is definitely there.

Not a big deal, unless those bits get more stuck to them, and it collects into a big mess that does block the vent. Sometimes it is worth picking off the bits (especially if you see that more is sticking to them), other times you can leave them alone and they never cause any trouble.

Should I add a second heat emitter with a roosting bar they can sleep on and not sit in their own waste all night?

Second heat emitter: no. If they already have enough warmth, more will cause trouble. Too much heat is one of the major risk factors for pasty butt, among other things.

Roosting bar: you can put one in if you want. Young chicks like to cuddle together on the floor to sleep. They will switch to roosting as some age (varies widely from one batch of chicks to another: anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months, and possibly earlier or later than that.)

They do stay cleaner if they have clean bedding where they sleep. A flat surface like paper towels will get "dirty" faster than something like shavings that they can mix the droppings into. I'm not saying you need to change anything about the bedding, just mentioning that different beddings do behave differently.

 

[Sanderguy777]

This is the RIR now. Not as aggressive, but it looks like she's messy. Is this an issue?

 

[Sanderguy777]

If the grass is attached to its roots and dirt, they can usually bite off pieces that are safe to swallow.

If you cut the grass (with scissors or a lawn mower) and give the cut pieces to chickens of any age, then they swallow whole pieces, of whatever length you cut it at-- and sometimes that is long enough to make tangles in their crop and get stuck there, not able to go further down but blocking any other food from going down too. If that does happen, and you don't fix it somehow, the bird will eventually starve to death.


Whatever size chunk you have conveniently available. If it rains and the sod chunks get wet, don't put a soggy muddy mess into the brooder. A bit damp can be fine if it there is still plenty of dry space in the brooder.


Not a big deal, unless those bits get more stuck to them, and it collects into a big mess that does block the vent. Sometimes it is worth picking off the bits (especially if you see that more is sticking to them), other times you can leave them alone and they never cause any trouble.


Second heat emitter: no. If they already have enough warmth, more will cause trouble. Too much heat is one of the major risk factors for pasty butt, among other things.

Roosting bar: you can put one in if you want. Young chicks like to cuddle together on the floor to sleep. They will switch to roosting as some age (varies widely from one batch of chicks to another: anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months, and possibly earlier or later than that.)

They do stay cleaner if they have clean bedding where they sleep. A flat surface like paper towels will get "dirty" faster than something like shavings that they can mix the droppings into. I'm not saying you need to change anything about the bedding, just mentioning that different beddings do behave differently.

Thanks. I'll monitor it. Doesn't look like it's causing a blockage at the moment. And I'll add the grass and a roost today so they can have a nice place to play and roost. They seem very happy, making the trill "happy" noise they make (not the shrill one they call when they think they're gonna die, like if I pick then up LOL)

 

[NatJ]

This is the RIR now. Not as aggressive, but it looks like she's messy. Is this an issue?

If she can still poop, and the new poop is not sticking to what is there, then it is not an issue.

If her vent is covered up or stuck shut, that would be a big issue. (My best guess: probably not the case, but you can take a closer look to be sure.)

If she can poop but the new poop sticks to what is there, it's a medium issue, but cleaning it sooner will be much easier than cleaning it later.

 

[AlisonBradley]

Just took my 4 new hen chicks home. Black australorp, black sexlink, Rhode island red, and buff orpington.

The RIR is aggressive, and went after the other chicks almost immediately. Just nibbling thinking they were food. But now she's discovered that the black australorp has white tips on her wings, which look like food. Everyone else now thinks so too.

Any ideas?

Rhodies are an aggressive breed. Your chickens will establish a pecking order. Your australorp is coming in at the bottom of this pecking order. The same thing happened in our flock. The first year we got 3 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Sapphire Gems. The Reds picked on the gems (who are bigger than them). The second year we got 2 Black Australorps and 2 Astra White chicks. We wound up with a second coop so that we could do the slow introduction once the birds were old enough to go outside. When we were ready to combine them into one coop we changed our minds and housed the 3 reds by themselves and the other 6 birds (2 gems, 2 whites, 2 austras) in the larger coop. We do let them intermingle during free range time and its not unusual to have the reds expression their dominate (jerky) behavior with the other birds. But by housing them separately all the feathers have been growing back on our gems were the reds were plucking them out with their aggressive behavior. I have noticed one of our Australorps has a bald patch on top where the reds are picking on them recently.

 

[realsis]

Just took my 4 new hen chicks home. Black australorp, black sexlink, Rhode island red, and buff orpington.

The RIR is aggressive, and went after the other chicks almost immediately. Just nibbling thinking they were food. But now she's discovered that the black australorp has white tips on her wings, which look like food. Everyone else now thinks so too.

Any ideas?

You need to watch because some chick's go for the eyeballs too. They are shiny and they don't know better. It's likely just curiosity. That seems to take care of itself. When they are a lot older and I have one picking on another I use a really smelly lotion called peck no more. It smells so strongly it keeps the other birds from pecking on the others. However it can NOT be used on small chicks so that won't work for them. Maybe scatter a bit of food in the brooder so she can stay busy pecking the food. I tried it, seems to work. That should keep her busy and from pecking others. Hope it helps. Let me know

 

[Sanderguy777]

You need to watch because some chick's go for the eyeballs too. They are shiny and they don't know better. It's likely just curiosity. That seems to take care of itself. When they are a lot older and I have one picking on another I use a really smelly lotion called peck no more. It smells so strongly it keeps the other birds from pecking on the others. However it can NOT be used on small chicks so that won't work for them. Maybe scatter a bit of food in the brooder so she can stay busy pecking the food. I tried it, seems to work. That should keep her busy and from pecking others. Hope it helps. Let me know

Pretty much over that it seems. They have all kinds of things to do (the waterer got moved, so they have a new patch to browse LOL)

 

[Sanderguy777]

Update, and questions.

Update, the picking on each other has stopped. Once in a while I hear a pain/alarm screech, but I think it is more to do with them being startled by someone flying around the 2x3 brooder LOL.

They really enjoyed the sod chunks I put in there, but I only have put 2 in. Is that enough to get then acclimated to coccidiosis?

Also, I looked at the almanac, and the average for my area will be 55⁰ f on April. Will my chicks be old enough to go out there at 4 weeks? Or will they be way too cold?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Also, I looked at the almanac, and the average for my area will be 55⁰ f on April. Will my chicks be old enough to go out there at 4 weeks? Or will they be way too cold?

Is that day or night?

Assuming they're properly acclimated to outside temperatures a healthy, decently feathered 4 week old is fine in a sheltered area without heat down to around 40F, maybe lower.