chicks pecking eachother and ? about roosting

[dustponds10]

Well I have heard that when chicks start to peck eachother then you need to debeak them? First of all is this what I need to do and if so how would I go about doing that?

Well I have been doing a ton of reading and I am wondering if I need to have a roost for my 2 to 3 week chicks.

 

[HathawayHens]

I am very new to this as well, but I don't think most people debeak anymore. It is generally considered cruel... the beak has nerve endings and it is quite painful. The chicks are usually just working out their "pecking order" and will not hurt each other. If they are given enough space, food, and water, chicks raised together should get along well, from what I have read. Mine are only two weeks old, so I will let you know!

 

[HathawayHens]

Oh, sorry - also you can put a roost in any time now... not too high up. They start to experiment with it and should eventually use it. Mine have several long branches in their brooder just a few inches off the ground, and they love to play on them!

 

[fastpat]

The number one cause of pecking is overcrowding. Day old chicks need at least 1/2 sq. ft. of brooder floor space, expanding to about 1 sq. ft. as they grow. I forget what the sq. ft. demand is for adults, but since mine will have a rather large run, I don't expect that to be an issue. I have a small branch for them to practice roosting on, at three weeks old they're just beginning to roost on it while sleeping, but most still sleep on the floor.

I would never consider beak cutting.

 

[dustponds10]

Ok sounds great. I wont consider debeaking then I didnt want to do it because I think it is mean as well. I will just have to make the box larger and see what that does for them. It is easy enough to make a larger box. Thanks all and thanks for the advice on the roost as well they will be getting one bright and early tomarrow.

 

[HathawayHens]

Yay! Let us know how they are doing!

 

[felidaet]

I put a roost in my brooder the first day I had chicks. It is about 2 inches above the floor. They started using it within a couple of days. My chicks now range in age from 2 - 4 weeks. Nearly all of them are using it.

 

[creekjumper2]

Are you still having problems with chicks pecking each other? This is my second year with brooding chicks. My first year was easy. This year I have 17 black sumatras and 5 rhode island reds in one brooder and in the other I have 12 golden comets. The golden comets came from a supply store in the nearest town. They were about 2 weeks old when I got them and since they were under the flourscent lights as well as one heat lamp, they pecked the crap out of each other. I am talking about balled spots, no tails and just a mess. It has taken a week and the best thing I have found is a cheap bottle of regular iodine. Every morning I go out and doctor the chicks that have spots that are being pecked at, and fianlly, I am down to one male that I am still working on. They do not like to smell of iodine, and it keeps them from pecking. You may have to apply more than once a day, but it works. I have never had chicks peck like this before, it was crazy. Try this. We do not debeak any chicks. This will cure your problem.

 

[dustponds10]

Well I didnt get much of a chance to look at the chicks today because I had to work. Bites, but I did buy 2 used incubators. So that is cool. I am pretty excited about them. I am going to set them up here in a couple days and see how they do and get eveything calibrated and then I am going to go to a friend see if I can get some eggs from his chickens and raise a batch to replace his that he lost to my dog...

so now I am going to return the chickens in a fun way. so soon I will have home grown babies.