3 day old bully. HELP!

[Sweet T]

Chickens are social animals and they do have a pecking order. It's common for one to peck another, to show her who's boss. With that being said, if you notice overly aggressive behavior that doesn't stop after a couple of days, guarenteed that chicken will remain aggressive, even as an adult.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: This isn't pecking to reinforce the hierarchy, unfortunately. This behaviour I have not even seen in roosters during battle; it's an outright attempt at cannibalism. The chick is treating the other chicks as food and trying to get mouthfuls of them. It's not treating them like other chickens. Chickens do not grab onto one another's faces and shake to work out the pecking order. I agree that this behaviour is pretty much guaranteed to continue into adulthood. I wouldn't trust any bird that's been forcibly prevented or forced to quit the behaviour with my flock, because as this chick is showing, that's an inherited behaviour, and there's every chance it will remain that way or resume at a later date.

Regarding honey containing bacteria that might be harmful to a baby's system: when you cook honey at anything approaching a high temperature you cook much of the goodness out of it and it becomes only marginally better than sugar, basically a mineralized form of it. Most honey sold in shops is cooked. Once it's cooked, any bacteria can live in it as it's lost its antibacterial properties. Honey is sold for medicinal uses in many places and of course that's not cooked. None of it should be; it's a food, a medicine orally or topically, a lifesaving substance in many cases for many species, and specifically a great feed for babies. It's regaining much of its former prestige as a medicine and health tonic.

Too much is laxative but good honey won't have the same effect as white sugar. Even raw sugar doesn't have anywhere near the detrimental effect of refined white sugar. Unfortunately our commercial hives are often not only chemically treated but the bees are often fed white sugar water to boost production and enable them to get by on an excessive plundering of their stored honey. That's old news though, I don't know what they're up to now, but the hive keepers I know are becoming more focused on natural honey as everyone's sick of the adulterated stuff bought in stores.

I know a severe Coeliac's sufferer who cannot even take one teaspoon of refined white sugar or she's on death's door and bedridden for the next half a year, in terrible suffering. But she can eat raw cane sugar, fructose, lactose, xylitol, honey, and a few other forms of natural sugars that aren't over refined as well as some that are slightly more refined. Just explicitly NO refined white sugar. She has a stymied disagreement with the woman who runs our local organics shop because this woman firmly believes all sugars are the same. They're not, in fact they're vastly different and of course there's nutritional science to back that up too, even if like that woman you have no personal experience with noticeable negative effects due to that not being your particular achilles heel.

 

[thepouts]

I am so sad reading this

I need to cull my baby chick?? I didn't think the behaviour was normal because it really looks vicious. But I also didn't think a 2 day old chick could be a monster

Just a question...how do people cull chicks?

 

[ten chicks]

I am so sad reading this

I need to cull my baby chick?? I didn't think the behaviour was normal because it really looks vicious. But I also didn't think a 2 day old chick could be a monster

Just a question...how do people cull chicks?

No,i would not cull chick,try removing sugar and honey. Let them have their chick feed only. I still believe the sugar is the problem,can cause all sorts of issues(aggression,elevated blood sugar levels,etc.)you see this in some children also. Add some warm water to their feed and make a mash. You could put a piece of hardware cloth up as a divider,so that said chick can see the other chicks,but cannot touch. Leave chick separate for couple of days then return chick. I have 6 chicks in one brooder and 4 in another brooder,no issues at all.

If,after you have tried and nothing changes,then you have to decide what to do.

 

[Blueberryfairy]

My chicks are about three weeks old. I had one that started that sort of aggressive behavior on day one, and I used the box they were delivered in to isolate it, but still left it in the brooder. When the chick outgrew that, I kept it in a small cage, also in the brooder. I tried re-integrating it a couple of times, and it started the behavior again. But after a straight week of separation, I let it in with the rest of the flock, and the behavior has not recurred.

It's worth a try - good luck!

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: @tenchicks: I can't find where the thread starter said they give honey OR sugar to them, that was another poster talking about their chick in reply to the thread starter (DogRN). The thread starter's the one with the problem chick.

Quote:
You confused me for a second, thinking you were the post starter... (How'd that 4 day old chick get back to 2 days old?!)

It's not a monster, it's an example of something having gone wrong with the care of its ancestors, and humans then bred that trait into that strain of the breed rather than culling. Sometimes treatment rather than culling is not responsible. The chick is mentally aberrant.

I haven't heard the specifics of your chick's behaviour and it's important to differentiate between normal to slightly bullying hierarchy contesting, and outright attempts at cannibalism. The mindset behind the two behaviours is utterly different. Pecking faces and jumping around and kicking eachother is normal. Grabbing onto a face, holding it down to the ground, and shaking it, it abnormal and attempting to kill or maim. It's seeing and treating the other chick like a live piece of food, not a playmate.

How people cull chicks is varied. I've tried a few ways. Always sad to have to cull a chick, I agree. Even sadder to try to fix one after it's been harmed in a way that could have been avoided. If you keep chicks though sooner or later you will have to learn how to put them down. When they're small enough I've found the kindest and quickest way for me is to behead them. It sounds barbaric, but compared to being frozen, gassed, or injected with something that causes heart attacks, it's kinder by far. I only do it though with chicks under a month old and because I am very sure of my strength and speed; if you're not sure of yours then I urge you to seek another method. I rip their heads off. It's all over in a split second and the chick is dead quicker than almost any other method can kill it. A sharp knife or secateurs are other methods people use which might be better for you.

Quote: @blueberryfairy: how long has it been? Please keep us updated on how that goes as the bird becomes an adult. I have heard of many people saying something's worked when it's worked for a week or month, but soon fails afterward as the bird regresses, so I'm keen to hear how long it works for. Best wishes.

 

[HennyPenny243]

Im not really sure what you should do. My best bet would be to de-beek or seperate it. Well anyways good luck with your problem.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: I appreciate the theory and intent behind the idea, but the idea itself, once put into practice, is cruel; also it's only a 'bandaid' solution.

Separating or otherwise physically preventing an animal from doing what is strongly expressed as a trait it possesses, will not stop it. It will breed that trait on, too; like vicious roosters being 'cured' by being caged, going on to breed vicious offspring because the trait does not vanish in the absence of practice of it.

Debeaked chickens are most likely the ancestors of that chick, because that is quite literally the only way you can develop a breed of cannibalistic chickens, since otherwise they can't make it to breeding age. Even 'goggles' are only a bandaid solution. The true solution is to cull that genetic line and breed only from good chickens.

 

[Blueberryfairy]

Quote:

Fingers crossed - it's been three days since we re-integrated the "mean" chick. I've spent as much time as possible observing, and see no signs at all of the previous aggression so far. I had actually assumed that I would have to keep it separated permanently (we are planning on eating some of this flock anyway, so it would simply be the first to go) but I am willing to wait and see.

 

[aggiemae]

The dragging down of the chicks by biting onto the face and other behaviour you describe is a serious warning sign and I would cull.

I agree, this level of aggression is way out of the normal range. If you can't do it yourself maybe you can return it to the store and they will cull for you.