Getting eatin alive :(

[aeg1001]

for some reason all of the other chickens have taken to pecking all of the meat chicks butts. i kept them clean and cant figure it out. i have sperated them and they seem to be doing better but what would cause this?

 

[SteveH]

There are too many variables [ such as space per bird , amount of feed being offered , protein content , etc. ] to make an accurate guess as to the cause . Well fed Cornish X are docile , slow , and basicly invite the bullying of more natural birds ; plus their vent areas are often partially bare or the feathers are covered with crap . I've read that others raise them with their layer chicks but believe you did the right thing in seperating them and hope that the bad habit of pecking flock mates isn't well established in the offenders . In active breeds kept in confinement , people will hang feed from a rope [ like a head of lettuce for instance ] or scatter feed in the bedding to give them some needed activity that replaces their normal foraging time and relieves boredom .

 

[ChIck3n]

Yep, I never raise meat birds with my other chickens for this reason. Putting them under a red light helps, but won't eliminate picking entirely. The other chickens can see the pink skin of the meat birds, so this combined with how lethargic meat birds are signal the other birds that something is wrong. So, like the caring gentle creatures chickens are, they instinctively go beat them up

As long as you can keep them separated they should be fine.

 

[aeg1001]

Thanks for the info. We have raised our meat birds with our layers b4 and never had a problem till now. they don't peck at each other so they are doing better now. Hopefully they get big and fat

 

[ChIck3n]

Quote:
Well, as long as they aren't drawing blood, a little pecking might stimulate them to wake up and eat! Enjoy your fresh chicken