Baby chicks and cannibalism

[RileyB]

Earlier this week I got 14 baby chicks. They are currenlty 2 1/2 weeks old. They were in the same brooder at the place I got them, and I put them all in one brooder when we brought them home. The day after I found one chick who had half of both its wings missing and bloody stumps where the wing is supposed to connect to the bone. I moved the chick into its own space, and while he was evidently very lonely, he was healing well. Last night I attempted to put him back in with the others, as the wound is no longer open and bright red. Within minutes the others were pecking him again. My husband placed him back in his own area, but later we found three more chicks in the large brooder being pecked. At first we put the 3 newly injured chicks in with the previously injured chick, but one of the chicks (which seems to be the instigator) wouldn't leave the other three injured chicks alone. That chick is now in its own area, I have the other three injured chicks together, and the 10 non-injured chicks are in the original area.

In reading the posts, books, websites, etc, all suggestions to avoid this kind of pecking/cannibalism have been followed. They have enough space, plenty of access to fresh food and water, a red heat lamp, dry shavings, etc. Last night I also turned off the light to try and make them less active. Nothing seems to work. I'm sure some replies will say something about them not being compatible breeds, but they were in the same brooder the first two weeks of their lives, and the pecking only started since we brought them home. Also, they all come from the same father, which is a NH red rooster. Their mothers were either NH red, buff orpington, or black orpington. I'm pretty sure we have 11 full NH reds, 2 buff/red crosses, and 1 black/red cross. Interestingly, none of the crosses have been pecked...

Any suggestions or advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[HEChicken]

I have never found breed to be a factor - I've put every kind of breed - including bantams - together, and never had issues like you are describing. You said there is ample space but didn't mention how much space there actually is. Lack of space would be my first guess as to why they are doing this. I've only had one time in years of brooding chicks where I had one that pecked others, but it never did it to the point that it drew blood, so I'm not sure what else to tell you. If there is an open wound they will for sure go after it. I keep Blu-Kote on hand and if I see an injury (in a chick or adult), I spray the wound with the Blu-Kote. It seems to do a great job of keeping the others from pecking at the wound.

 

[Panth]

You also didn't mention what you feed them. If you are only using chick starter, you may wish to up their protein intake with some scrambled egg or yogurt. At 2 weeks, I give mine watermelon or corn on the cob when they look bored. They are also old enough for you to start bringing in dirt/grass clumps from the yard. That should keep them entertained and keep their little beaks in the dirt instead of each other.

 

[SkyeSchazade]

I am looking forward to seeing some more replies. I am having the same problem, I have raised several batches of chicks with my current set up, many of them larger than what I have in there now. But over the past couple weeks I am waking up to see chicks that have all their tail feathers pulled out and their bottoms or backs pecked bloody, this morning I found one dead. I have already upped their food and started adding corncob "toys" and such. It always happens overnight though. Not sure if its one bird in particular or the group doing it, but would like to cull the instigator. These chicks were mostly hatched together with just a few others (same age) added in within the first week. I am pretty sure that some of these chicks are cockrels, might that have something to do with it?

 

[RileyB]

I think I've figured out which one is the instigator, and he (I'm pretty sure it's a male) is separated from the others now.

As for the size of the space, I'm not sure of the square footage, but it's the same exact set up they had when I went to Agway, and they had about the same amount of birds (which are larger than mine currently are) in that size space. However, tomorrow I am going to either get a much larger space or put them into two separate brooders of the same size.

I will try giving them treats. I have not done that yet. I wasn't sure how old to start that.

Since I've turned off the heat lamp and put the instigator separately they seem to be doing much better. But...only time will tell. I am worried at this point I will never be able to integrate the injured birds (once they are healed) with the non-injured birds which will be a significant issue with one coop. Also, I am most definitely going to sell or give away the instigator if he keeps it up!

 

[RileyB]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I've had quite the weekend trying to avoid this with my chicks, but am still at a loss as to the cause.

I had 14 chicks, but planned to sell 6 of them when they got older. Instead, I split the chicks into two groups, and gave away 8 this weekend. That stopped the pecking, although I still had one of the chicks by itself recovering from previous wounds. Since my ideal amount of chickens is 8, today I picked up two buff orpingtons who are three weeks old just like my other 6 chicks. When I brought the orpingtons home I put all the chicks together outside in a large chicken wire pen for the afternoon to get used to each other. It was a huge success. I was able to put the injured chicken (who's pretty much been separate from the rest of them due to repeated injuries for a week) in with the rest and they all got along. The two new additions also fit in great.

After a few hours I put them back inside. When I checked on them later the (healing) injured one had been pecked again. Will I have to keep that one separate permanently? None of the chicks I have currently have pecked this one before. Also, the pecking order has been all shaken up the past few days, so it's not that this one is being reintroduced to an established hierarchy. I don't know what to do!

 

[cary 1973]

are you using red light or white light what i have found in my studing of chicks white can cause aggression where red is more mellow i also say space and bordom but im new at this

 

[Whispering_Raven]

Poor thing! I hope things calm down for you soon! You may have to baby the injured chick for a while. I've never experienced what you're experiencing, and no offense, but I sure hope I don't! I would go out of my mind! But, I did save an older hen from TWO predator attacks and when I thought she was well enough to return to the flock, they pecked the heck out of her. So, she became my little Sunshine. Eventually she was OK with the flock, but never really became "part" of the flock. She was always on my shoulder and kept a little distance between her and the others. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you!!!! I will follow this post for updates on your little ones!!!

Many Blessings!
Tracy

 

[farmtotable]

In reading the original post, I'm pretty sure the issue was space - even if you have the same amount of space as the brooding area at the store, the store is counting on the chicks selling quickly, whereas you will need a larger space to accommodate their growth. I have a 4' x 8' brooding box with two heat lamps and two feeding/watering stations, along with several natural roosting areas (driftwood), and I've never had that type of problem, even with as many as 18 chicks in it. I have always used a red light, and turn the overhead light off at night (the brooding box is in the garage). We've been using that set up for years.

Any time I have an injured bird (chick or adult) I've always immediately separated them from the flock until they're completely healed. (My husband now refers to our bathroom as the "chicken hospital"). There's something about injuries that bring out the worst in a flock....I had one rooster that took his sweet time getting over being sick, so I made him a "playpen" area with discarded fencing that he lived in during the day, complete with his own feeder and waterer, then I made him a sleeping box next to the brooding box in the garage at night. I would relocate his feeder and waterer into the box at night. The bonus was that the other chickens could see him through the fencing, so they were still used to him, but they couldn't get at him.