ZazasMom
Songster
Hi chicken friends! We hatched a bunch of chicks on 5/1 and they were doing mostly great. On 5/9 we added a Bielefelder pullet that is 1 week older than the rest as well as a Lavender Orpington that was 1 week younger than the rest. This past weekend, the Orpington died suddenly 
She was laying in the middle of the brooder Saturday morning, no blood. I had noticed that she was always quiet and didn’t move as actively as the others, so maybe she was sick. But today around 10pm, I noticed one chick of the Original flock laying in the same spot that the Orpington had died in, surrounded by two chicks who were pecking at her! This chick is on the bigger side - we named her Big Mac, possibly a Polish - but I had actually been wondering if she may be sick too. Sneezing from time to time and becoming less active recently. My first thought was that this older Bielefelder may be pecking at the weakest one and then the others join in?? I quarantined Big Mac, and she chirped a lot, so I added another friend of her age. They both weren’t happy, as they are now under a heat lamp vs the heat plate in the big brooder, and the light is new to them. I also offered them electrolyte water.
I’m trying to figure out why the chicks were pecking at Big Mac? Is it possible that the Orpington was pecked to death even if there was no blood? The brooder is a Pack’n’Play, 28 x 40 inches, with a heat plate, and there were 9 chicks in there. Is it too small? I can only put them outside for an hour after work every day in a make-shift pen, so I wonder if they’re getting bored. I want to integrate the two quarantined ones back to the flock, but I’m concerned that they start pecking while I’m at work. Is the 1 week older pullet a problem? Thanks in advance for any advice!
She was laying in the middle of the brooder Saturday morning, no blood. I had noticed that she was always quiet and didn’t move as actively as the others, so maybe she was sick. But today around 10pm, I noticed one chick of the Original flock laying in the same spot that the Orpington had died in, surrounded by two chicks who were pecking at her! This chick is on the bigger side - we named her Big Mac, possibly a Polish - but I had actually been wondering if she may be sick too. Sneezing from time to time and becoming less active recently. My first thought was that this older Bielefelder may be pecking at the weakest one and then the others join in?? I quarantined Big Mac, and she chirped a lot, so I added another friend of her age. They both weren’t happy, as they are now under a heat lamp vs the heat plate in the big brooder, and the light is new to them. I also offered them electrolyte water.I’m trying to figure out why the chicks were pecking at Big Mac? Is it possible that the Orpington was pecked to death even if there was no blood? The brooder is a Pack’n’Play, 28 x 40 inches, with a heat plate, and there were 9 chicks in there. Is it too small? I can only put them outside for an hour after work every day in a make-shift pen, so I wonder if they’re getting bored. I want to integrate the two quarantined ones back to the flock, but I’m concerned that they start pecking while I’m at work. Is the 1 week older pullet a problem? Thanks in advance for any advice!
