Help! 3 wk old chick got tail pecked bloody by sibs.

[RNM Chicks]

We have 12 chicks in the same brooder, a rubbermaid 35 gallon. They are 20 days old. I am going today to get two more containers to split them up. Is the overcrowding the reason we woke up this morning to find one with a bloody stump left of a (very small) tail???? Are they turning on each other? If I take them to an "expert" can they be sexed at this point? That way we can make the "cut" so to speak, which will lighten the load. We can only have 8 hens here in our town. I have 15 birds right now. I don't want them to hurt each other. They have been super healthy thus far......any words of wisdom?????

 

[Ms.Frizzle]

Definitely get them into a bigger container. Use a red heat lamp to mask any blood. Separate the bloodied one or the others will eat it. Spray it with Blu-Kot. It masks the red, acts as an antibacterial, and tastes bad to the other chickens. Your baby will be blue for a while though.

 

[RNM Chicks]

Thank you. Where do I find Blue-Kot? I already seperated her from the others. We are getting bigger brooders today.

 

[andalusn]

Blue Kote is available at any feed store where they sell large animal topicals for wounds. It's a dauber or spray on.

 

[ChickenMomNewbie]

I had this same problem with one of my young chickens, around the same age, maybe a week or 2 older. I put her in the bathroom sink and washed off all the blood with warm water, then poured some hydrogen peroxide on her tail feathers and rump area. I patted it dry with paper towel, and she handled it all very well. It was sore, so I had to be gentle. Then I put some antibiotic cream (what I'd use for myself) on the area. This deterred the other chicks from going after her, as they did not like the cream. It helped her to heal as well. The antibiotic cream wears off quickly, so I then switched to antibiotic ointment (vaseline base), and this stays on the feathers longer, so it totally deterred the others and she is now healed up, and no more problems with this.
Also, one of my other young chicks was attacked on her neck by the others, so I washed it off and put the antibiotic ointment on this as well, and it is healing up nicely.
This is a very inexpensive treatment, as you can get a tube of this in one of the 'dollar' stores (we have 'Dollar Tree' around here in Western NY State) for $1. Good luck in your treatment of your chicks!