Chick pecking at every other chick's eyes, help!

[rosemarythyme]

Might want to try setting up toys like this, marked with red (to get their attention) or dots (to simulate "eyes") so the chicks fixate on the toys instead of one another: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chick-pecking-other-chick.1430088/#post-23567316

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

Might want to try setting up toys like this, marked with red (to get their attention) or dots (to simulate "eyes") so the chicks fixate on the toys instead of one another: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chick-pecking-other-chick.1430088/#post-23567316

We had already done that, and added more (carboard has dots all over, there are 4 small tennis balls in there with red and black dots, a mirror, and a colorful child's xylophone). I tried testing the bully the last two days and she immediately went for the eyes. One bantam (the lighter colored one) now has her eye closed again and there is a clear injury above her eye- it looks like it's eyelid got grabbed.

So bully is still separated.. and now another bantam is doing the same thing - pecking and eyes and vents! I can't separate another one.. What the heck..

 

[Mutchi]

it might just be curious?

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

Little bantams eye.

And no... I think the lighter colored ones are getting pecked at most.. They are pecking eyes and vents where feathers get stuck from poop (or where I wash it off and the feathers are still stuck together). I'm afraid they are all learning it from each other.. I keep trying to correct them with taps but it's not working..

 

[Mutchi]

Little bantams eye.

And no... I think the lighter colored ones are getting pecked at most.. They are pecking eyes and vents where feathers get stuck from poop (or where I wash it off and the feathers are still stuck together). I'm afraid they are all learning it from each other.. I keep trying to correct them with taps but it's not working..

poor baby, im not a pro but i will sure give you some hope, some one wll pop in and tell you how to stop it for sure! you will get thr this!

 

[Mutchi]

so you have bantams and normal together? do the lighter colored ones peck each other or just the dark colored pecking the light?

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

so you have bantams and normal together? do the lighter colored ones peck each other or just the dark colored pecking the light?

There is a white/black marbly looking one that is the (first) bully. She's pecking EVERYONE but the bantams were getting the worst of it so I had to separate the bully. Then the brown bantam recovered and she started pecking the light colored ones (there is an austra white that has a few black dots on it, so sometimes they peck at those, but today it's been eyes and vents) and the other light colored one is a bantam, who is the one above who got its eye pecked almost the second i tried to reintroduce the bully. I read from this forum that often times they get better after the first week because they have an excess of hormones making them aggressive that levels out... I'm hoping that's the case because this is so hard and sad and frustrating to try to keep them from hurting each other. I saw another post where one baby pulled another's umbilical cord and pulled its intestines out, i'm just terrified of a scenario that involves cannibalism. This is our 2nd batch of babies, and these ones are SO MUCH FRIENDLIER than our first batch so we are already quite in love with them and will do whatever we can for them.

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

I've only had them since Wednesday morning but I've been spending almost every waking hour with them so it feels like forever...

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

My partner tried to reintegrate the bully and now she's shy and skittish and STILL pecking everyone's eyes.. He was tapping her every time and literally watched her for hours today just so she would spend time with the rest of the chicks. And the minute it was my turn to watch her, she grabbed the little white bantam's eye AGAIN, it looks worse than the above picture and it was bleeding a little. I'm afraid I screwed everything up by separating one, but I did it to protect the other ones. I put her in her separate area for bed time but she looked so sad, I caved and put her with the other chicks, figuring if she's sleeping she won't be pecking anyone's eyes.. but now I keep imagining coming back to a baby bird with an eye pecked out.

I feel like I screwed up, all the chicks were so happy and friendly the first few hours I had them home, and then everything got chaotic with all the eye and vent pecking. I know I'm doing the best I can but it's hard I've only had them 2 days.. I don't remember this happening with my first batch of chicks (but there were other problems), I feel like I have the worst luck.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Not sure what to suggest other than continuing to separate the problem bird and then re-testing her every other day or so to see if her behavior has improved.