Eye pecking - chicken jail for a 2-day old?! Help!

[SimplyForties]

One of my little brahma bantam chicks is going around systematically pecking at the eyes of all the other chicks. Not just little pecks either. She's grabbing hold and dragging them around. No one can settle down because she's terrorizing everyone. Any advice?

 

[rikku_03]

have you tried changing the light to red?

 

[SimplyForties]

They have a red light. I tried turning it off but then they all got unhappy. I stuck him in another little box with some food and water and now he's hollering but all the rest of them immediately settled down and went to sleep. I hate to leave him out all by himself but I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

 

[mediazeal]

Hmm, I"m not expert
but if you can make a wire divider in the brooder so he can see the rest of the chicks but not touch them....
after a few days you can try him back with them again but if he isn't over it, you can just pop him back into his partitioned area.
I had to separate my spotted chicks from my non spotted for just the same reason
there was all this drama and squealing as they pecked the spots and pulled thinking it might be something to eat
after awhile they got used to how they looked and I was able to take the partition out.
good luck

 

[Im4Eggcellence]

Along with the wire divider so it can still see the others, you might want to add a plushy toy of some kind for company. It's stressful for everyone concerned isn't it.

 

[SimplyForties]

It's so late (nearly midnight where I am) that I guess I'm going to leave him in the little box tonight. If he's still acting up tomorrow I'll rig up the wire divider. Hopefully that will work. Thanks!

 

[SimplyForties]

So she spent the night in the little box, I put her back in the with the flock this morning and she immediately started eye pecking again. Because the little brooder they were in is not big enough to fence off an area, I got the bigger brooder box ready and moved everyone in there. I thought the bigger box and the various things to do in there (big branch, etc.) might keep her occupied I put teenie weeny meanie back in. Nope, right back to eye pecking.

I stuck her in the newly vacated smaller brooder box and, because she hadn't seemed as mean to those of her own variety, I stuck another little brahma in with her for company. Unfortunately, with no other selection, meanie began pecking the other brahma's eyes so I stuck that little victim back with the flock and meanie is back on her own.

I know they're only a couple of days old but I wonder if meanie is going to turn out to be a roo. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to make the wire partition or give her to my tenant, who has been talking about wanting a chick.

Why can't they all just get along??!

 

[mediazeal]

Give her a couple of days. I used the wire partition method (cardbaord cut to size with a wire window taped in) to keep 5 chicks on one side and 7 on the other. It got them so they were used to seeing each other. They didn't really respond to the time out method, just needed time to figure out that eyes, spots, etc were not bugs, not to be eaten.
What kind of chicks are they?
Good luck

 

[SimplyForties]

The inmate is a buff brahma bantam and she is now in a partitioned off space in the big brooder box. There are two other buff brahma banties, 2 black-tailed, white Japanese bantams, 2 golden sebrights, 2 silver spangled Hamburgs and 1 red sex link on the other side of the wire!

 

[columbiacritter]

I had that problem with a BR chick going after the tiny Japanese bantams. It took a much bigger brooder box and several days detention before she stopped the behavior.