20 day old VERY agressive chick

[yallapilko]

Hi, one of my latest brood has a really agressive chick in there. Not just the usual casual curious peck of the toes etc, but a full out attack on other birds, which involves chasing them off food and water, and it getting furious if one of the others jumps on top of something higher in the brooder than itself. I'm considering culling it. What do you think? It's upsetting the other chicks quite badly. It's a golden coturnix, by the way

 

[TwoCrows]

I have had this trouble as well and did not cull. What I did was divide the brooder up and put the lone chick on the other side of wire so that he could see the others and the others could see him, but that he was all by himself. He didn't seem too stressed about be separated over time. Eventually he did behave himself and the others were able to grow in peace. He had his own water and feed, but the heat lamp was put half way over him and half way over the others so everybody got heat.

 

[yallapilko]

I would struggle with the heat lamp as I use a different method of heating, what is called here and 'electric hen' - you'll know it I'm sure, a sort of heating platform on legs, which they can run over. I've no heat lamp otherwise I could swap. But if you've a lamp, that's a great idea.

 

[missnu01]

I would have a hard time culling a chick for a personality issue. I mean stuff like that changes...and there are always going to be sort of bully chicks..they end up being alright chickens most of the time though...perhaps a little gruffer than some other chickens...but that doesn't usually cause an issue. I mean there are coop leaders, and perhaps you are looking at a top bird. No biggie.

 

[yallapilko]

In the end I made the decision to cull this chick. Unfortunately, it was far more than a chick wanting to be top bird. It is stopping the others from feeding and caused physical damage to the others. As I could not house it on its own, it had to go, to keep the others safe.