agressive chicks - help!

[moonhaus]

Hey Chickeners,

So, about 5 weeks ago I ordered 100 chicks - all roosters. The hatchery advertised them as a fry pan bargain, and since I'm raising meat birds, I decided to try them.
They are all different breeds, Ancona, Wyandotte, Australorpe, Orpington, etc.

About a week and a half ago, I moved them to an outside pen. They are almost all feathered out and still just need a light at night.

They've always been kinda spunky, but today I noticed that a lot have pecking wounds all across their backs and shoulders. I'm concerned that they are becoming too aggressive and will kill each other - but I'm surprised it happened so fast. They are only five weeks old.

I have raised one group just prior to this, about the same number of birds in the same amount of space. There are a good number of roos in that bunch too - I'd say 2 to 1, and so far I have had minimal problems from that group.

Any ideas? I know that Anconas can be aggressive birds, I got some because they are also supposed to be great foragers, and good at avoiding predators. But this time it seems that they are becoming aggressive really early on.

What should I do?
cull some to give them more room?
try to sell them off and get a female group?
let them be?

any advice you guys have is, always, much appreciated.
I'm still a newb, but someday I'll be able to give advice back

Jerah

 

[teach1rusl]

Gosh, this sounds awful! You might repost this in the meat bird section. Is space ample?? These aren't like the more sluggish cornish crosses that do okay on limited space...these breeds need room and activity. Do you have lots of diversions available, such as branches, stumps, chairs, old ladders, old wooden boxes, anything that might help give alternatives for excess energy! Make sure there are multiple feeders/waterers stationed well apart. Good luck!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

How much space do you have? That's the first thing that comes to my mind.

What you're describing is not normal. I have a meat pen where I put all my Cornish X broilers (I buy all male) and some heritage cockerels from hatches, and they all do fine together. They spar a bit, but I've never had one draw blood. In fact, I have six 9 week old EE cockerels and 12 four week old Cornish X cockerels in the same pen right now, just moved the Cornish X over today with no introduction period, and the EEs have left them strictly alone, no problems at all.

 

[moonhaus]

they are in a bottomless pasture pen and are moved every day.

There aren't a lot of multi-level diversion I guess, but I feel like new forage should keep them busy enough? The pen i 8X8, and I think it's too small - but my other group of New Hampshires and Dominiques did fine in that space until they were even older than that. I'll put out some more feeders/waterers.

thanks
Jerah

 

[teach1rusl]

There aren't a lot of multi-level diversion I guess, but I feel like new forage should keep them busy enough? The pen i 8X8, and I think it's too small - but my other group of New Hampshires and Dominiques did fine in that space...

Apparently the new forage is not keeping THIS GROUP busy enough or they wouldn't be bloodying one another. And while the space worked for your other groups, it's obviously not working for this group. Can you add another tractor? If you're going through this at only 5 weeks of age, I can't imagine how bad things will become as they come into their hormones... Since they're not nearly big enough for eating, could you sell off 1/4 - 1/2 of them???

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

8x8 for 100 chicks? There's your answer. That's only 64 square feet, not even a foot of space per bird. Even lazy Cornish X need 1.5 to 2' of space per bird. You can get away with such a small amount of space when they are chicks, but your birds are five weeks old and simply need more room.

Overcrowding is the #1 cause of pecking and cannibalism.

We raise our meat birds in a 4' x 8' chicken tractor, but I wouldn't put more than 15 broilers in there, and heritage birds need even more space. They don't need diversions, or toys, or anything like that, but they must have space. I wouldnt' try to keep more than 30 birds in the amount of space you have, and even that is pushing it for heritage birds.

My advice is to find a way to get them more room ASAP. What works well for us is those T-shaped metal fence posts with snow fence or chicken wire hooked on with zip ties. Make them a nice, big area at least 20x20 (bigger is better, and they will stay cleaner and not wreck your grass so much) and let them go back into your chicken tractor to sleep. You'll need to put straw or something inside to keep it clean because you won't be moving it any more, and you might want to clip their wings. Either that, or build some more chicken tractors ASAP. You're going to have mortality soon.

 

[moonhaus]

thanks everyone! I will do these things!

Jerah

 

[moonhaus]

just out of curiosity, I feel like everything I've read about keeping chickens says 1 foot of space per bird.

Even in pastured poultry articles/books etc.

This obviously isn't enough at all..... in what situation would that be enough, and why does it seem to be such a common number to come across?

thanks
J

 

[Blue]

I honestly think (of course I could be wrong) the 1 ft. thing comes more from factory farming type operations, where the birds are often cramped together. Birds in factory type settings are often debeaked, or at least have their beaks trimmed as chicks so that they can't peck at each other. In my experience, 1 sq. ft. is not enough at all for my birds, except maybe the bantams.

 

[donrae]

just out of curiosity, I feel like everything I've read about keeping chickens says 1 foot of space per bird.

Even in pastured poultry articles/books etc.

This obviously isn't enough at all..... in what situation would that be enough, and why does it seem to be such a common number to come across?

thanks
J

Exactly what Blue said. You see pictures of factory farming with the birds just crammed in there. Most birds, just sitting still, take up a square foot of room! Imagine being packed in a crowd so tight you literally have to bump into your neighbor to scratch yourself....it's horrible.
General rule of thumb for backyard birds is four square feet per bird in the coop, and ten square feet in the run. As WoS said, overcrowding is the number one cause of behavioral issues in birds. They respond by pecking and cannibalism, it's not a pretty picture. Give your birds as much space as you can.

Moonhaus, I agree your birds are WAY too crowded. You need multiple tractors, even 25 birds would be pushing it in an 8x8.