fighting, bloody chicks

[chickhappy]

Hi all, first time ive posted, but have been a fan of this web site for a long time. I have month old chicks who have recently started fighting - drawing blood, about 3 of them. ive blue koted them, and they will be okay. What is this about? I've had chicks before and never had this trouble. I've tried to find similiar post, but nothing about chicks actually drawing blood. The coop is plenty big, so thats not the problem. Also, had to seperate chicks from mom, she was being a real snitch to them also!! When it first happened, they were all picking on this one chick, so i seperated. Now, none of them get along! Please help me, and thanks ahead of time!

 

[CarriBrown]

Welcome to the forum!
It could be a lot of things: Too hot, too cold, too crowded, too drafty...
Think about what could be making them uncomfortable. You can also change their bulb to a red one. That should curb the picking a bit.

 

[chickhappy]

thank you very much for the reply. However, I live in NC, and today is a great day, around 80 deg, shady. Its cool outside, the coop is great big - they have no lights on them at all - any other ideas, or suggestions? Will it stop? Is it a pecking order thing? Could they mostly be roos?? I'm at my wits end. With chickens, it seems to always be one thing or another! Also, I'm sitting here typing with blue hands due to that blue kote - is there a secret to getting this stuff off???

 

[bobbieguyette]

The blue kote unfortunatly has to wear off:/ I had that problem many years ago when i raised BBwhite turkeys they do it out of boredom sometimes too so i put in a huge old mirror and that did the trick they pecked that instead of each other and was happy and hanging old cds with string too will help good luck!

 

[chickensinMT]

You could try to clip their beaks. I have done it on chicks and pheasants/quail. It usually seams to work. I would use an old fingernail clipper or something on that order

 

[RioLindoAz]

do you now why mom is being mean? You should probobly seperate them from her cause she might be teaching them to peck each other. Find a small space in the yard to let the chicks free range and put them in a box at night so they will get the habbit of coming back at night but make sure they can get in the box.


.....Welcome!!!!!

 

[CarriBrown]

Hummm.....
You could try hanging a red light (use a low wattage one so it doesn't put off much heat). Another thing you can try is scattering food on the floor with the bedding so they have to work for it. It will take them a lot of time to scratch and search for enough food to give them the energy to pick at each other!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If it's not a space or temperature issue, could it be a diet or external parasite issue? Those are also possible causes. I would check for mites, which can make chickens cranky. What are you feeding them? Diet imbalances like not enough protein, salt or one other thing I can't remember at the moment, can cause aggressive behavior. Do they have enough space at the feeder and waterer? You might need to add more.

We used Blue Kote for a minor injury after an accident last week, mainly as a picking preventative. I only got a bit on one finger, but my DH managed to spray his whole hand!

It wore off with a couple of days of hand washing.

 

[chickhappy]

Thank you all very much for the help. I took you up on all the suggestions, and now...no more pecking - I dont know if it was mirrors or the CD's, or what..but their fine now! Thanks again!

 

[bobbieguyette]

Im so glad it helped sure helped me when i had them 50 BB whites fighting non stop good luck with them!