CrookedLaneGame
In the Brooder
We are first time chicken keepers, and I have read so much stuff about what to do to help our chicks grow up to be great chickens, but we have ran into our first behavior problem, and I'm not so sure what to do.
We have 12, 4wk old bantam babies, they are in a brooder that's about 4'Lx3-1/2'Wx1-1/2'H, plus an extra box that's another 2'x2'. I am guessing that space is an issue, but I wasn't expecting to get the chicks outside until at least 6wks old. The weather here is about 70 during the day and 50 at night, and I don't know if that's warm enough for them to make the big move, just yet. However, one of our girls (Barred Cochin), she's toward the bottom of the pecking order...or least thought she was, has developed a pecking problem. Their pen has always had multiple perches, I've put up "mirrors" for them to peck at, I give them one small treat a day, and keep their pen nice and tidy.
Last week I took them outside for a little bit, and it seems her pecking has begun since then. The weather has been rainy for the last week, so I haven't been able to take them out much since. I woke up one morning, and our self-blue D'uccle has a rather large, slightly bloody area at along this side, right where his tail feathers are growing. Upon closer inspection, he also has a small raw spot under his wing. I was shocked. I tried to clean him up, tried applying some Blue Kote, and antibac ointment to his raw areas. I put him back in, and watched.
Turns out the girl barred is going around viciously pecking any bird that she deems fit. Only one has turned around and bashed her back. She seems to just go from bird to bird. After a day, I noticed that the other barred we have, male, is also pecking, but he's focused on the d'uccle. He isn't as vicious as the girl, but he is pecking him. That same day, I saw the girl, she's primarily focused on our female sebright. She's been very deliberately grabbing her feathers and violently pulling and shaking. I noticed she as been able to remove a couple feathers, and she was trying to eat them.
I looked for all sorts of tips of what to do, and I've tried them all. I doubled the size of the brooder, since we need a couple more days to get the coop predator proofed, and we have more chicks on the way. I am seriously contemplating adding another full sized addition, as the extra space has help a tiny bit, but she's still pecking. I put in new activities, given them things to scratch, darkened their pen at night, and even tried feeding them a bit more protein, since they're on an "all grain" diet. It's been a day or two, and she's still at it.
So, I guess what's your opinion? I know it's probably space, but is it too soon for them to go outside at this temperature? She's not a dominant bird, so does that make her actions any different? And, if we get them out in the coop, and she doesn't stop...are we out of options?
Any advice would be appreciated.
We have 12, 4wk old bantam babies, they are in a brooder that's about 4'Lx3-1/2'Wx1-1/2'H, plus an extra box that's another 2'x2'. I am guessing that space is an issue, but I wasn't expecting to get the chicks outside until at least 6wks old. The weather here is about 70 during the day and 50 at night, and I don't know if that's warm enough for them to make the big move, just yet. However, one of our girls (Barred Cochin), she's toward the bottom of the pecking order...or least thought she was, has developed a pecking problem. Their pen has always had multiple perches, I've put up "mirrors" for them to peck at, I give them one small treat a day, and keep their pen nice and tidy.
Last week I took them outside for a little bit, and it seems her pecking has begun since then. The weather has been rainy for the last week, so I haven't been able to take them out much since. I woke up one morning, and our self-blue D'uccle has a rather large, slightly bloody area at along this side, right where his tail feathers are growing. Upon closer inspection, he also has a small raw spot under his wing. I was shocked. I tried to clean him up, tried applying some Blue Kote, and antibac ointment to his raw areas. I put him back in, and watched.
Turns out the girl barred is going around viciously pecking any bird that she deems fit. Only one has turned around and bashed her back. She seems to just go from bird to bird. After a day, I noticed that the other barred we have, male, is also pecking, but he's focused on the d'uccle. He isn't as vicious as the girl, but he is pecking him. That same day, I saw the girl, she's primarily focused on our female sebright. She's been very deliberately grabbing her feathers and violently pulling and shaking. I noticed she as been able to remove a couple feathers, and she was trying to eat them.
I looked for all sorts of tips of what to do, and I've tried them all. I doubled the size of the brooder, since we need a couple more days to get the coop predator proofed, and we have more chicks on the way. I am seriously contemplating adding another full sized addition, as the extra space has help a tiny bit, but she's still pecking. I put in new activities, given them things to scratch, darkened their pen at night, and even tried feeding them a bit more protein, since they're on an "all grain" diet. It's been a day or two, and she's still at it.
So, I guess what's your opinion? I know it's probably space, but is it too soon for them to go outside at this temperature? She's not a dominant bird, so does that make her actions any different? And, if we get them out in the coop, and she doesn't stop...are we out of options?
Any advice would be appreciated.
