I have five partridge cochins under the lamps at the moment. One is a standard cochin, she -and I say she because I do not know...is about two weeks old and the four bantam cochins with her are a week less than she. They are tiny....she seems to be the mother hen to all of them but at the same time she is pecking on them-a lot. This morning I came out to the box to see one trampled a bit on its back struggling to get up. Now in the defense of the older chick, the box they are in is a storage container that has higher and lower segments to it on the bottom, it is a standard storage container one would use in their garage for instance. At any rate, there is shavings in there, but they have thinned out in the past few days...this area that she "Fell" into, she really should have been able to get up on her own, but I imagine there was a tad bit of the turtle on its back thing going on. Either way, I picked her up and she seemed to get her orientation back. HOWEVER, I did note that she is the smallest out of the bunch now...the first "runt" having passed last week...she had gotten tired and lethargic in a day and passed in the night...I thought this to rather frequent and did not think much of it...between then and now, the larger chick had done minimal pecking, but at the same time seemed to be very protective of the chicks, only really pecking at me when I stuck my hands in to get the girls....I have been handling her more, and this has been subsiding...So this morning, after I take the smallest one out - the one who was flipped-to wipe her bum, the little ones have poop issues and get it stuck over the rectum and clogged-I put her back and the big chick is pecking at her...and almost chasing her around the box. Then, she allows the little one to snuggle her and warm up under her wing.
My question is this, should I separate them or let it be? Nature seems to be involved, and I do not want to mess with that. They have been together since the feed store having been in the same group at the store and bought together....they are all they know...I may also have a rooster on my hands and not see it yet...Oh by the way, this bigger chick has absolutely NO feathers on its bum....totally bald...what’s up with that? This has been this way since I bought it, and it has not changed and there is no sign of it changing...the skin is fine, no damage there...kind of interesting...
So I am less inclined to separate them, but I do not want another dead chick on my hands. is this a bantam versus full size issue? Power kick?
My question is this, should I separate them or let it be? Nature seems to be involved, and I do not want to mess with that. They have been together since the feed store having been in the same group at the store and bought together....they are all they know...I may also have a rooster on my hands and not see it yet...Oh by the way, this bigger chick has absolutely NO feathers on its bum....totally bald...what’s up with that? This has been this way since I bought it, and it has not changed and there is no sign of it changing...the skin is fine, no damage there...kind of interesting...
So I am less inclined to separate them, but I do not want another dead chick on my hands. is this a bantam versus full size issue? Power kick?
