Chick Killing Chicks?

[Grillmaster33]

I've never lost a chick before, but this week I have had two mysterious deaths. My chicks are secure and have fresh food and water. Of the nine chicks, I believe that four of them were males. Two of the four have died.

When I went for my therapeutic chick watching I observed my silver sebright chick pestering my golden sebright chick to no end...the two of them I believe to be males.

Could my chick be guilty of stressing/bullying my other two chicks to death? They are about four, maybe five weeks of age.

 

[Shannon33]

Hmm I have never heard of that happening before with chicks all the same age. I guess anything is possible but if there are no signs of trauma on the bodies personally I would be looking for another cause. I've had batches of chicks with bullies and pests in them but never to the point of one killing or even hurting another.

 

[Maximus]

Quote:
Yeh Mabye snakes that has hapend to me before.

 

[Grillmaster33]

Thanks, and definitely not snakes. At this point they are in a secured brooder inside my home. It's been really odd...

 

[Judy]

Could have been something internally wrong with them. Chickens evidently can pick up on this when we can't, and they will eliminate the weak member of the flock, which protects the rest. Just a guess.

I've never had one chick kill another, either.

 

[BrattishTaz]

Chicks definately will kill each other. There has always been damage to the head when I've found them. Two chicks that were 2 weeks older than the rest started the pecking but others then jumped in.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=501351

 

[chickensinwasillaAK]

I've got 7 week old and two have been killed off my coop mates. I watched them after the 2nd death and could pick out one RIR and two Buff Rocks that were the bullies. They would literally peck the bird to death. They're now in a time out pen, birds that were pecked by alive treated with blue kote. No more problems, they go out to the farm this weekend to graze in the fields.