3 week old buff orp pecked by other chicks. Help!

[skylavaulter]

I have 12 three week old pullets in our 4'x2.5' brooder. There is one pullet that has always been friendlier than the rest. She's the only one that will come check us out while we are sitting next to the brooder and the only one that lets us hold her without freaking out. Other than that, she's active and acts healthy. Yesterday we found all the chicks chasing after her butt and noticed blood. We immediately separated her to her own brooder area and she's stil doing ok today. However I'm concerned about the area because not only did they pluck her tail feathers, they also plucked skin and there was some tissue present. This is her butt today. It seems to be trying to scab. Should I be doing anything to help or would it be best to save her the stress of handling and messing with it and just let her body heal itself?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'd put some betadine (organic iodine) and Neosporin on it.

What are you feeding them? I cut the protein too early last year and I had some cannibalism for the first time. They started eating the bird right where yours is.

 

[skylavaulter]

Is there a reason this would have happened? I guess her friendliness was a sign of some underlying weakness? Is there a way to prevent this from happening again and when can I put her back with the others?

 

[skylavaulter]

We are feeding purina chick starter and grower

 

[ChickenCanoe]

My guess is either crowding or a need for more protein.

3 week old birds need 2.5 sq. ft. per bird or 1.5 for bantams. You have 10 sq. ft. for 12 birds. That's overcrowding.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

OK so that's 18% protein.
I'd give more space and get a can of tuna or mackerel and give them some every couple days. Mackerel is much cheaper than tuna so that's what I use.
You can also feed meat scraps or mix some milk with their feed.

 

[skylavaulter]

Well crap. I just don't have room/money/etc to build another brooder of that size when we are focusing all efforts on the coop! I wonder if we could put them out in the cop with several heat lamps? We are in PA and it's still pretty cold here at night I didn't think they looked that crowded in there

 

[skylavaulter]

*out in the coop

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I move them out to the brooder house when they come out of the hatcher regardless of temperature. I use two heat lamps the first few weeks in case one goes out during the night.
A mother hen doesn't heat all the ambient air. She just provides a hot spot for them to warm up but they really don't spend that much time under her after the first week.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If you need to have them inside, which I do in the cellar if it's below 10F outside, I get some large moving boxes from Lowes. They're about $1.50 each and I cut doorways between them and keep adding boxes as the chicks grow. I put the heat in one food in another and water in another.