Darticus
In the Brooder
My wife and I have had a small flock(Under ten) of bantams about 2 years now. We had our first fertile egg hatch with a Broody hen with more than one chick hatching about a month and a half ago. The Chicks(seramas) are just over six weeks old. Appears as though we have 2 pullets and 2 cockerels. The hen was a Cochin mix. Momma hen has been starting to peck at them, forcing them to start venturing on their own. No issues. Yesterday it changed. It seemed as though over night the non dominant of the little men became public enemy number one to the flock, mainly momma, including the other three littles. I went out and he had blood on his little comb and his head . Not a super amount but when it’s a white one it’s hard to miss. So I cleaned him up basically blue coated most of his little head hoping that would deter any pecking after seeing the blood. I think that part worked, but he’s still getting worked. The mama hen will chase him if he gets within five feet, not just a warning peck but chase. The others she just pecks once and moves on. Is this a pecking order thing or an attempt to weed out the little man since the other seems to be the clear head dude? I’ve kept him safely separated within the coop at night and he’s got enough escape space during the day. When we go out he’s far away from the others. He doesn’t appear to have any injuries other than the pecking that would bring any unwanted attention. Today the other littles didn’t seem so hard on him but momma is still relentless. Any thoughts? Or is this normal, just strange that it happened overnight.
