1 Black Chick

[chameleon]

I had 8 hens (out of 12) unexpectedly go broody in less than 2 weeks. I was ill and the nests were hidden, so by the time I noticed it was too late to remove the eggs. The first hatched almost a week ago, and so far 15 have hatched. Only one is black, the rest are all pale yellow to buff, and the others are being brutal, pecking at it almost constantly. One other one, much smaller than the others too, had quite a big scab over the umbilical area and the others pecked at it till it started bleeding. I've covered the wound and put the two of them under an upturned clear plastic basket in the brooder with the rest but safe from the pecking.

Will they get used to the black one and stop pecking? The other one I'll just have to keep seperated till it's healed enough to not attract attention, but at least they can see eachother so it shouldn't get too lonely.

 

[apryl29]

Not an expert or anything, but I got 16 chicks over several weeks this past spring. I had one chick who ended up being a cockerel that attacked EVERYONE. I had to put him in a separate cage b/c he was attacking everyone else, esp all the brown/ black chicks. It was odd b/c HE was brown too. There was several he was absolutely brutal with, but he eventually stopped. Hopefully that's not a sign that you have a bunch of boys! We also had an australorp chick (only one) that had a white spot on her wings and every single bird pecked at that feather. So it could just be b/c that chick is different that they've singled it out. If it were me I'd probably keep them separate, but visible to the others. 4 of my chicks were a month younger than the others and I kept them separate until they were big enough to fend for themselves. I tried to put them in with the bigger chicks, but everyone pecked at them. Once they were about a month old I was able to put everyone in together. As for the one w/ the scab, in a brooder the red heat lamp is to help disguise blood so they don't kill another bird, so probably once the chick is all healed up they'll leave it alone, but I'd probably keep them together so the one isn't all alone. Maybe you'll get some more brown chicks once the others hatch and that will help stop the bullying.
I've never had broodies.. do they mom the babies after they hatch, or do they just protect them from the bigger chickens?

 

[21hens-incharge]

So if I read that right... You have removed them from their moms?
How long have they been away from mom?

The only time it is to late to remove eggs is once they are hatched and therefore are no longer in egg form.

If these are unplanned and unwanted chicks then perhaps you can sell them on Craigslist. Whoops just realized you are WAY south. Never mind craigslist. But still you may be able to sell or give them away.

As to the injured and the picked on ones....
Can they get to and away from the heat source? Is there air flow through the makeshift cover they are under? Food and water in there with them I assume.

Can you put a wire divider in the brooder so they have more ability to move about?

 

[Ridgerunner]

The best I can tell you have 15 chicks of various ages but all within a week of each other in a brooder. No broody hens involved. Only one is black (I'd guess a younger one) and one or more of the others are attacking it. Another one is injured but that is a separate story.

It's possible that one or more are attacking that black one because of its color, especially if it is a recent addition. I've had chicks attack another chick their same color. For whatever reasons sometimes one chick just doesn't like another one. Sometimes some other chicks join in but often they don't. This can happen with older chickens too.

If only one chick is the aggressor you might be better off putting that one in timeout for a couple of days. Leave it in the brooder but put it in jail. See if the black chick gets along with the others. Or keep the black chick isolated like that, in the brooder but where the others can see it. It's very possible that in a few days the others will accept it as belonging.

Chick behaviors can be challenging to understand. Chickens of any age can be bullies. Time out can be a great tool but it doesn't always work.

Good luck!

 

[chameleon]

Thanks for all your responses. The basket is kind of like a plastic mesh, so there's plenty of air flow and visibility, so they can all see eachother. I have a heating pad in the brooder so I put the basket half way over the heating pad so they can get away from it if they want to. The black chick is back with the others now, they seem to be getting used to it with just the occasional peck but nothing too rough and one more black chick hatched this morning (2 out of 20), but I'm still keeping a close eye. I've also put some 'toys' for them to peck at and it seems to distract them from pecking at eachother. I've been removing them from the broodies as they hatch and putting them in a brooder so they don't get taken by wildlife and I've put them on Gumtree, similar to Craigslist I believe.