Excessive Pecking & Aggresion

[springchick5]

So we got 4 cute chicks today and one seems to be a little evil. It seems to love pecking at the eyes and feet of the other chicks. We moved them to a larger studio appartment, the heat is on and working, lots of clean water & food. Anyone have any ideas on how much is normal and what we can do to lessen the abuse. Any help would be appriciated.

 

[FarmGirl01]

Sometimes that just happens. Alot of ppl use a red bulb to help soothe them. You could give them something to pick on instead. If they are old enough you could offer some grass. That might help.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I haven't had that problem so can't help you but I have read a lot of interesting threads on here about it. Do a search, the one wiht the "chicken jails" was really cute and informative.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

A red heat lamp and I would put some of their crumbles down on paper towels or cardboard for them to scratch at. Maybe if they have something to do, the one won't pick on the others.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Red light and chicken jail as suggested. Make sure they are not too hot and that they have enough room. Put in a feather duster or something similar, maybe hang something shiny for Atilla to peck at, like a piece of an aluminum baking or pie pan. (You don't want them eatiing pieces of aluminum foil so it needs to be heavier than that.) Something that might distract Atilla.

Chicken jail (consider it protective custody for the other chicks if you don't like the term jail) is probably the best bet. Be prepared for loud complaints if Atilla cannot get to the other chicks. You can totally separate him but it is probably best to keep him in the brooder if you can. Maybe use a wire basket or some form of wire separation so he can see the other chicks. He still needs food, water, and heat. I'd put a mirror in with him so he can practice pecking at his reflection. He might not find that as satisfying.

 

[damselfish]

Before you move on to "chicken jail", just step back for a day or so, wait and watch.

If these are day-old chicks, that's just what they do. They haven't figured out what anything is yet, and the only way they have to check (having no fingers) is with their beak.

Just make sure they have space, food, water, heat and the ability to get away from the heat. I second the notion of a red heat lamp if you don't already have that. If you haven't already done it, put down paper towels over your regular bedding (pine shavings are good), and scatter the food on there as someone suggested above, so they can figure what food is.

Breathe, keep an eye on them, don't escalate yet. If blood is drawn or feathers are pulled, that's different and you can move on to other options.

 

[Dyngbld]

I have one in jail right now. Day old and atacking the others eyes. Likes the lighter colored birds and has drawn blood on a couple of them. She is not happy seperated from the others. The irony is she will be one of the smaller breeds when they are older. We will let her out today under supervision. I didn't have this problem with the last batch of chicks.

 

[HenryChickens]

Hi, I'm new to this so hello to everyone. I'm having the same problem as springchick5. I just got a batch of chicks and I had 1 barred rock peep that just continued to peck at the other's eyes and this chick doesn't really care what color they are. He goes after the brown leghorns, the cherry eggers, the buff orpingtons and also the barred rocks. I have plenty of space, water, food, grit, etc. I also have the red light. Nothing seems to work.

I have also tried putting him/her in chicky jail and trying to reintroduce him/her to the other's at different times and it is always the same thing, right back to going for the eyes. I am going to try putting some like a mirror in with him/her, but I don't know what else to do.

Will this stop after they get older or will this continue all through adulthood also. I've never had this happen before, most times they will peck each other in the feathers, butts, etc., but they it stops. This little bugger just runs around looking for trouble. We've called him Pecker and he sure fits the bill.

Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.YourLinkGoesHere

 

[HenryChickens]

Hi, I'm new to this so hello to everyone. I'm having the same problem as springchick5. I just got a batch of chicks and I had 1 barred rock peep that just continued to peck at the other's eyes and this chick doesn't really care what color they are. He goes after the brown leghorns, the cherry eggers, the buff orpingtons and also the barred rocks. I have plenty of space, water, food, grit, etc. I also have the red light. Nothing seems to work.

I have also tried putting him/her in chicky jail and trying to reintroduce him/her to the other's at different times and it is always the same thing, right back to going for the eyes. I am going to try putting some like a mirror in with him/her, but I don't know what else to do.

Will this stop after they get older or will this continue all through adulthood also. I've never had this happen before, most times they will peck each other in the feathers, butts, etc., but they it stops. This little bugger just runs around looking for trouble. We've called him Pecker and he sure fits the bill.

Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.YourLinkGoesHere