HELP! Feather Plucking

[EotP]

Hey Everyone!

Looking for some quick advice. I have 41 chicks that will be 5 weeks old on Friday. Due to weather issues (winter WILL not leave) my plan of taking them from the brooder in the house to a heated barn (just until they could live without heat) was thrown out the window as I could get the barn up to temp with how cold it was outside. As an alternative I placed them in the heated garage in what will be the sheep shelter this summer with a make shift door. It’s about 1.3 sq ft per chick but was hoping that was enough until they were 6 weeks and the weather was better so I could move them to the barn. Well there is one with some pretty bad tail feather picking that must have started today and another (pretty sure a Maran cockerel) that they have started on his back. I am doing a make shift add on to the shelter (as I type this) which will increase the space to about 2.5 sq ft a chick. Hopefully this helps until they go to the barn.

My question is, is the addition space enough or should I remove the chick with the severe picked spot?

P.S.
I apologise in advance if this has an answer in an existing thread but without the details it’s been a rough day and have to deal with a lot yet and want to take swift action before things get too far.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The space should help a bit, but if some of the chicks have already gotten into this habit it may still continue. Won't know for sure until they go in there.

Is there anything in the brooder space for them to do, to distract them from wanting to peck at each other? They're unfortunately at the age where boredom and crowding can lead to bad behavior.

Worse case scenario I'd separate the pecked on chick along with a few others into a separate brooder space, whether that's a wired off section of the area they're currently in, or a box, crate, cage, etc.

 

[EotP]

The space should help a bit, but if some of the chicks have already gotten into this habit it may still continue. Won't know for sure until they go in there.

Is there anything in the brooder space for them to do, to distract them from wanting to peck at each other? They're unfortunately at the age where boredom and crowding can lead to bad behavior.

Worse case scenario I'd separate the pecked on chick along with a few others into a separate brooder space, whether that's a wired off section of the area they're currently in, or a box, crate, cage, etc.

Thank you so much for the reply. I had roosts and a carboard box with partitions from the electric fence for entertainment. I also put some oats down this morning but I don’t think there was a lot of interest or distraction. I moved three into the original brooder. How long should I keep them seperated? And full intro to re-integrate?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you so much for the reply. I had roosts and a carboard box with partitions from the electric fence for entertainment. I also put some oats down this morning but I don’t think there was a lot of interest or distraction. I moved three into the original brooder. How long should I keep them seperated? And full intro to re-integrate?

A good enrichment item would be trays of dirt from the coop or run location, or other things from outside - I've seen chicks playing with small leaves, for example.

As far as separation time, maybe a week to start? Ideally you want the picked on bird healed enough that the others don't find it such a tempting target anymore (blood/redness attracts pecking).

For the ones that you separated, is there any way to have the brooder in line of sight of the rest of the group? It'd make for the easiest reintegration if they don't completely lose contact with one another. But as a general rule chicks are more tolerant of new additions, so reintegration might be as simple as just adding the separated chicks back to the group. The perfect time would be if you could re-add them when they move to the barn, as the new environment will shake up any pecking order they might have.

 

[EotP]

A good enrichment item would be trays of dirt from the coop or run location, or other things from outside - I've seen chicks playing with small leaves, for example.

As far as separation time, maybe a week to start? Ideally you want the picked on bird healed enough that the others don't find it such a tempting target anymore (blood/redness attracts pecking).

For the ones that you separated, is there any way to have the brooder in line of sight of the rest of the group? It'd make for the easiest reintegration if they don't completely lose contact with one another. But as a general rule chicks are more tolerant of new additions, so reintegration might be as simple as just adding the separated chicks back to the group. The perfect time would be if you could re-add them when they move to the barn, as the new environment will shake up any pecking order they might have.

Yes sorry I had a cat litter box of sand from the yard in there as well. Unfortunately the line of site won’t work, maybe if I introduce them again when I move them into the barn might help it go a bit smoother. Thanks again for all the help!