Bully? Or just top in the pecking order?

[Folly's place]

And, a bigger brooder, room temperature at one end, 95F max. under the red light.
Mary

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Normally the healthiest hen or in other words the hen who is the most vigorous in a reproductive sense is at the top of the pecking order. This IMHO is why hens who are brooding chicks have so few issues about being bullied, their status is naturally higher..

 

[aart]

Might try a 'chick jail'.
I put this over the trouble maker right in the brooder near under the heat.

 

[aart]

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'. 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.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[HuffleClaw]

So my setup is 95* F at one end and room temp at the other. My feed is right in the middle. I am going to try to put Sarah (the bully) back today because I had to setup another brooder. Hopefully all goes well.

Also if not I will try the ‘chick jail’ idea!

Thank you!

 

[aart]

I hope 'she' calms down...that is awfully young to be showing that kind of aggression.

 

[HuffleClaw]

I hope 'she' calms down...that is awfully young to be showing that kind of aggression.

I was thinking the same thing, but I wanted to double check. I hope so too!

 

[aart]

I was thinking the same thing, but I wanted to double check. I hope so too!

You had a rough hatch....could be a neurological issue.

 

[HuffleClaw]

You had a rough hatch....could be a neurological issue.

I really did. Can I PM you with some questions (about the chicks)?

 

[Trux]

I notice your all saying "her". My experience has been when chicks are that rambunctious they end up being males. My first flock was 15 and they did have their moments but were relatively calm. My second batch of chicks, which happened to be six SLW's were up most of the night raising cane. Turns out four of them ended up being males. Now on Flock three have same issues, three SLW, three GLW, and one Partridge Rock. Two for sure are males, possibly four. They do their little dances, chase each other around and can't seem to settle down for very long. The three I know are females,they eat drink scratch and peck then go find a spot and chill.