My husband and I are first timers with raising chicks. We got 10 day-old chicks yesterday and for the most everything is going swimmingly. There are just a couple issues.
One chick seems weaker than the rest. Last night she was kind of standing in one place, not eating or drinking, facing the wall with her eyes shut. So we mixed up some barely-sugar water and dipped her beak. She perked up a bit, but at about 9pm, we found her on her back with her legs up. My husband reached down into the brooder for her and she jumped up and started moving around. Eventually she started eating and drinking on her own. Today she is doing a bit better, but still kind of... lethargic.
One the other end of the spectrum is tiny little Pigwidgeon, who keeps pecking everyone else in the eye. She just hunts around and goes for the eyes. Nonstop. I'm home today (I'm a grad student in summer semester), and it has been incessant since they woke up this morning. Just cries of pain from Pig hunting the others down. She did it a little bit last night when we got them home, but today... SHEESH.
I separated her in a small rubbermaid container in the brooder with both water and food, and she's really upset, as evidenced by her loud cheeping. She escaped twice and went back to attacking the others immediately, so I taped a sheet of paper with holes in it over the top of the container.
I'm wondering if I've done the right thing by separating her, or if I'm worrying too much about her behavior. Is she going to get cold in there by herself? Will she grow out of this?
One chick seems weaker than the rest. Last night she was kind of standing in one place, not eating or drinking, facing the wall with her eyes shut. So we mixed up some barely-sugar water and dipped her beak. She perked up a bit, but at about 9pm, we found her on her back with her legs up. My husband reached down into the brooder for her and she jumped up and started moving around. Eventually she started eating and drinking on her own. Today she is doing a bit better, but still kind of... lethargic.
One the other end of the spectrum is tiny little Pigwidgeon, who keeps pecking everyone else in the eye. She just hunts around and goes for the eyes. Nonstop. I'm home today (I'm a grad student in summer semester), and it has been incessant since they woke up this morning. Just cries of pain from Pig hunting the others down. She did it a little bit last night when we got them home, but today... SHEESH.
I separated her in a small rubbermaid container in the brooder with both water and food, and she's really upset, as evidenced by her loud cheeping. She escaped twice and went back to attacking the others immediately, so I taped a sheet of paper with holes in it over the top of the container.
I'm wondering if I've done the right thing by separating her, or if I'm worrying too much about her behavior. Is she going to get cold in there by herself? Will she grow out of this?
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