Does anyone have any reformed eye peckers?

[rlbrand]

My little eye pecker is 2 weeks old, and has been segregated since first hour in the brooder... I have tried countless times to add him to the brooder but without fail he jumps up and grabs the other chicks eye lids and yanks or just pecks at their eyes. He goes around to all the chicks and terrorizes them, leaving them with swelled and bleeding eyes... I have given up on trying to add him to the brooder. My question is will i ever be able to add him to the flock when hes older? or is it once an eye pecker always an eye pecker?

 

[GitaBooks]

What breed is it? What temperature is the incubator? Are they getting enough protein and enough toys?

 

[Binki]

Yikes! How often do chickens become eye peckers??

Maybe he is just attracted to pecking at then because they are shiny and darting around, like a bug or something? If so maybe he can outgrow it?

 

[Binki]

Maybe you can eventually show him a mirror of himself or the other chickens through a window to see if he goes for the eyes again?

 

[rlbrand]

not sure of the breed it was the surprise chick from MMH, my guess is EE but I really don't know... I don't have a thermometer in the brooder but i know the temp is fine, from how the chicks react to the light, (also raised chicks before in same brooder without fail). I tried giving all chicks electrolytes and when they first came home from post office i gave them cooked egg yolks mashed in their feed for extra boost. Everything has been done right for this chick... its just very interested in eyes.. I put a stuffed toy in the secluded box for my eye pecker, it is a small toy rooster chick size.. first thing the chick did was sit next to it and peck at its black eyes...

 

[GitaBooks]

I guess you can try a reintroduction in a few weeks.

Best of luck!

 

[tearooster]

Hi there! Chickens hate the taste of English mustard so what I would do I put the toy back out and put some English mustard on its eyes. That way when he goes for the eyes he gets a nice bite of English mustard. I had these hens who would eat their eggs so I took an egg emptied the yolk from it and filled it with English mustard and the chickens lunged for it. As soon as they tasted it they walked away and since then I have never had an egg eaten.

 

[rlbrand]

I will have to try the English Mustard trick. I did try to reintroduce him today when taking all the chicks outside, and again first it pecked at an eye. i picked it up.. then i set it back in again and then it grabbed an eyelid, I quickly yanked the chick out and put him back in his segregated box...