Chick picking itself raw

[Kim_1970]

Ugh. My chick obviously likes the taste of chicken. She picked her tail feathers clean off and her fluff butt is now bloody raw butt.
The other chicks were also chewing at her.
I took her out of the brooder and put her in a tote. I have put blue kote on her (and myself

) about how long will she need to be seperated - any ideas?
I have no idea why she was picking at herself though.

 

[math ace]

She will need to be separated until the feathers grow back 2 - 3 weeks.
At that point the others may act like they never knew her. Increasing the protein during the separation time will help.

I fed my pullet kitten chow as a supplement during that time - - - it has a lot of protein. The pieces seemed big to me so I used my DH's hammer and smashed them a little before I gave them to her.

You need to figure out WHY the feather picking was happening - - does she have mites? Was there a change in the flock ? Do you have a bully that started the picking and others followed up? Are they getting enough protein - - feathers are pure protein so the chickens will pull and eat if they are not getting enough protein. Is there an overcrowding issue? Any of these issues can cause feather picking.

 

[Kim_1970]

I dont know how it started to be honest. I wasnt home and my mother called me at work to say she took her out of the brooder because she was bleeding. Before this I hadnt noticed anyone being a bully or picking at feathers.

I had 11 chicks in a 4' long x 3' wide by 2' high brooder. Red 100 watt lamp, in my spare bedroom. They are eating the medicated starter feed by Purina and they are about 2 1/2 weeks old. Should I be adding something else to their feed? They have lots of room from what I can tell but they have started doing the chest bumping since I moved them from the tote brooder I had and into the big wooden brooder.

I dont see any mites on her or scales or anything abnormal except her raw butt now. I wonder if she was preening and accidentally drew blood? They are really getting a ton of new feathers in over the past few days.

Is she going to be ok being alone for 2-3 weeks?? She is all alone in the tote now.

 

[Kim_1970]

oh and if i give some kitten chow, do i need to put grit in there then too?
I havent been giving any grit as of yet since they are just eating the starter feed.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
She is awfully young for some of the things I suggested. Don't worry about the extra protein. The chick starter should be fine

When my chicks were that young - - they went through a growth spurt and needed more space. I had one little leghorn who was super sensitive to overcrowding and would pick on anybody who went near her. I had to separate her from the others and put her in a different rubermaid bin. SHE DID NOT LIKE BEING ALONE But she did not want to be overcrowded either. So I had to put a few buddies in the rubbermaid bin with her. So she got more space with a few buddies to keep her company.

I suspect yours are crowded. Once you think the injured one is ready, you could put her in another bin / brooder with a few friends. THEN WATCH and see what happens. You can also purchase so "pick no more" products from your local feed store. It is applied to her bald spot and makes the area tasty nasty so that no more feathers get picked out.

 

[Kim_1970]

holy cow - i hope they arent overcrowded. Their brooder box is huge I think. They have lots of room to run, flap wings and whatnot. Does it look insufficient? I do have her seperated still, I will try to put someone else in the tote with her so she isnt so lonely and see how that goes.

 

[Kiwibird]

If yours are crowded, mine are tragic battery chickens! Actually, I don't think this is the problem.

I expect your chick twitched in an interesting and food-like way, another chick fluked it and pecked in such a way as to draw blood, and the redness of the blood got them all fascinated. Jolly unfortunate really.

Being young it should heal fast. Put the most docile in with it when the damage is less obvious, then another one if possible so that you can reintroduce a group to the others when the damaged one is looking really good, rather than trying to send that one back on its own and having problems.

 

[math ace]

OMG - that looks huge for the current size - -- SO no overcrowding doesn't look like the issue.

I give up - -

Chickstarter is what they should be eating - - - not a diet issue.

You checked for mites and mites normally aren't an issue this young - - - not a pest issue.

Space looks geat - - - not a overcrowding issue.

Put another feeder and water out. Maybe there is an issue with not enough room for everybody to eat / drink at the same time.
If by chance you have a dominant one trying to control the food - - - the others will have a chance to eat somewhere else without dealing with her.

These are white chicks - - - if you are still using the heat lamp - - - some of mine would pick on the others because of the way the light reflected off the feathers.
Is you light White or Red in your heat lamp?

 

[Bat Cave Silkies]

Doesn't look like your chicks are overcrowded. I'd keep the injured one isolated until the raw area is well healed. Place a mirror in her little house and she won't feel so lonely; you could also place a small stuffed animal in there with her (she may cuddle up to sleep with it).

At 2 1/2 weeks they are old enough for treats. Won't hurt to add the extra protein of some chopped, boiled eggs....especially for the injured one.

 

[ranchhand]

Rather than having to reintroduce her to the flock later, divide the brooder so they can all see and hear each other and she has time to heal. It could be her tail feathers are growing in such a way that it irritates her skin. She picked at it, then they all started. Just a guess.

But another chick in with her will probably continue the attack, so better to isolate her in a corner of the fabulous brooder!

ETA, I use an old oven rack to separate the brooder.