Broken pin feathers

[DressageRider]

When we got our chicks they sent us a meal maker as well. “Buttercup” is the only light chick in with 45 dark chicks. I’ve noticed some broken and bloody pin feathers on her tail. I have not seen her getting pecked. Will the others pick on her because she stands out? Not sure at what point to separate, I feel like it’ll be harder to reintroduce her to the flock later? Any suggestions.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

It could happen, I have seen it... birds of a feather TOTALLY flock together.

Are they on a heat lamp? Indoors or outdoors?

I would not separate either.

 

[Big Red Roosters]

The chicks are sneaky. The same thing happened to me. They never did it while I would watch, but the second I left I could hear painful cheeps. Turns out the chicks were uncomfortable in their brooder, as soon as I moved them to one twice as large they stopped pecking completely.

 

[DressageRider]

It could happen, I have seen it... birds of a feather TOTALLY flock together.

Are they on a heat lamp? Indoors or outdoors?

I would not separate either.

They are under heat lamps, outside in a brooder in the coop...I didn’t request the meal maker and was kinda upset having the oddball but she turned out to be my daughters favorite, never expected this though.

 

[aart]

I would not separate.
If bleeding stopped, leave it all alone.
If it continues to bleed copiously, fully pluck that bleeding pin feather out.
Had to do this with a young cockerel once.
Don't bother with bluekote or blood stop...neither will work...he preened both off and started the bleeding back up. I used a small hemostat to grab pin feather and yank it out, yes, he squawked loudly, but was better off immediately.

Agrees that crowded space could be part of the issue....and they need space to get away from heat if needed. Pics of your whole setup might garner some suggestions.

 

[DressageRider]

I would not separate.
If bleeding stopped, leave it all alone.
If it continues to bleed copiously, fully pluck that bleeding pin feather out.
Had to do this with a young cockerel once.
Don't bother with bluekote or blood stop...neither will work...he preened both off and started the bleeding back up. I used a small hemostat to grab pin feather and yank it out, yes, he squawked loudly, but was better off immediately.

Agrees that crowded space could be part of the issue....and they need space to get away from heat if needed. Pics of your whole setup might garner some suggestions.

Ive thought about them needing more space but thought it was odd only 1/47 is getting picked on. Our brooder is warmer on one end and cooler on the other. There are a lot of lights but we check temps and turn lights on and off as needed when the outside temperature changes.

When I first went in they were all spread out, they moved to one end after I opened it up.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes, it looks like more space is in need. It should help.

Also, maybe less light.. If they don't get any darkness it can be more difficult. Are those red lamps ya got by chance?

 

[DressageRider]

Yes, it looks like more space is in need. It should help.

Also, maybe less light.. If they don't get any darkness it can be more difficult. Are those red lamps ya got by chance?

Most of them are red lights, I think 2 are white. They aren’t all always on, just as needed to get temps up.

 

[Chickassan]

Sometimes it helps to put a small box in there so they can hop up or get inside. Just anything to add intrest to the brooder, a piece of old log would do. Believe it or not they get bored, and boredom in numbers gets ugly.

 

[aart]

Looks a bit crowded at the top end.......that's a lot of lamp shades!

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.


The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.