Chicks pecking each other's eyes. How can I prevent it?

[song of joy]

I had a RIR chick that did this. She went around to all the other chicks in the brooder and would peck at their eyes. It stopped after a day or two, and everyone was OK.

It may help to add some distractions to the brooder to give them something else to focus on, for example: 1) a dish of mashed hard-boiled eggs to give them something new to peck at, 2) a small dish of colored marbles to give them something else that's shiny to peck at, and/or 3) a couple of 3" diameter branches to give them something to perch on, sleep next to, navigate around, and provide semi-isolation areas.

 

[Soot the silkie]

I had a RIR chick that did this. She went around to all the other chicks in the brooder and would peck at their eyes. It stopped after a day or two, and everyone was OK.

It may help to add some distractions to the brooder to give them something else to focus on, for example: 1) a dish of mashed hard-boiled eggs to give them something new to peck at, 2) a small dish of colored marbles to give them something else that's shiny to peck at, and/or 3) a couple of 3" diameter branches to give them something to perch on, sleep next to, navigate around, and provide semi-isolation areas.

Ok!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

... When I turn off the heat lamp they stop pecking.

You figured it out. Which is why I recommended a non-light producing heat source and blue light for days.

...
It may help to add some distractions to the brooder to give them something else to focus on,...

X2

 

[kyexotics]

In 6yrs and well over 1000 birds, we've never had an eye injury due to a peck,. we believe it's a very rare event if it happens...Let em peck, it's usually, in our experience, to get food off each others face...If we ever saw one aggressively pecking a face, we'd separate them...I've seen many head shots as they establish 'pecking' order, but never intentional attempts to peck out eyes...

 

[Soot the silkie]

In 6yrs and well over 1000 birds, we've never had an eye injury due to a peck,. we believe it's a very rare event if it happens...Let em peck, it's usually, in our experience, to get food off each others face...If we ever saw one aggressively pecking a face, we'd separate them...I've seen many head shots as they establish 'pecking' order, but never intentional attempts to peck out eyes...

Yes I think they peck to get food or dirt off... but they might still hurt each other. You have a thousand birds? I have two full grown ones

 

[kyexotics]

Yes I think they peck to get food or dirt off... but they might still hurt each other. You have a thousand birds? I have two full grown ones

Oh god no, we have 100 that are pets but we've gone thru over 1000 birds...

 

[Soot the silkie]

Oh god no, we have 100 that are pets but we've gone thru over 1000 birds...

Oh ok. I was wondering why you you'd care about chicks pecking each other if you were a commercial egg farmer or something.

 

[kyexotics]

Oh ok. I was wondering why you you'd care about chicks pecking each other if you were a commercial egg farmer or something.

Nah, we just love em, which makes pecking not easy to watch, even when we know it's not hurting each other and they're just doing their thing...

 

[Soot the silkie]

Nah, we just love em, which makes pecking not easy to watch, even when we know it's not hurting each other and they're just doing their thing...

Yes, I completely understand. I love mine so much, and it's hard to watch them be hurt or unhappy. I love them just as much I would love a dog if I had one.

 

[Beekissed]

I've never seen chicks injure each other with eye pecking either but I do things a little differently than most folks, I'm thinking. For one, they get a clump of sod to peck at, consume, climb on, from the area where they will be eventually living. They also have deep litter that has been used by my older flock which has a lot of various things to peck at in it already...different textures, materials and shapes. I also use nipple buckets instead of regular chick waterers, so they have something red to peck at.

One lady suggested painting a red dot with finger nail polish at regular intervals around the brooder box to keep chicks occupied, so that may help in your situation. Placing some sod in there may help as well and will be a two fold benefit of exposing them early on to the soil culture they will be living on so they can form immunities when they are supposed to..in the first few weeks of life.