Help! Chicks pecking excessively?

[RussellOR]

I have 3 Easter eggers and 3 cream legbar chicks, all almost 2 weeks old now. For about a week I have noticed pecking behavior that has troubled me and I have made all attempts to improve the situation besides separating the chicks. It seems the legbars are semi obsessed with pecking at the cheeks/chins of the Easter eggers. Perhaps one in particular but they are difficult to tell apart. One Easter eggers in particular is showing signs of feather loss. I have given them things to play with and tinkered with their heat, and moved them from a storage tote to a bathtub for more space. I don't know how normal this is or if they'll grow out of it. I will try giving them a bigger space soon but am working on how to keep them safe from our housecats and how to set up the heat lamp in our garage. Anyway, if anyone can weigh in with experience if really like some assurance that this behavior won't persist as the chicks get older.

 

[RussellOR]

Thoughts anyone? Should I separate or not?

 

[Cmcclelland]

I have 3 Easter eggers and 3 cream legbar chicks, all almost 2 weeks old now. For about a week I have noticed pecking behavior that has troubled me and I have made all attempts to improve the situation besides separating the chicks. It seems the legbars are semi obsessed with pecking at the cheeks/chins of the Easter eggers. Perhaps one in particular but they are difficult to tell apart. One Easter eggers in particular is showing signs of feather loss. I have given them things to play with and tinkered with their heat, and moved them from a storage tote to a bathtub for more space. I don't know how normal this is or if they'll grow out of it. I will try giving them a bigger space soon but am working on how to keep them safe from our housecats and how to set up the heat lamp in our garage. Anyway, if anyone can weigh in with experience if really like some assurance that this behavior won't persist as the chicks get older.

I do not have experience, am new myself. However I didn’t know that baby chicks and ducklings would IMMEDIATELY begin the pecking order. Someone recommended a mirror and I bought a hand held large mirror in the beauty section at the store. Leaned it up in the brooder And it has SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the aggressive behaviors of the babes.
I also read they could do this due to over- stimulation.
I tried another toy but they ignored that one. The mirror has been a significant hit !
Good luck- hope this helps

 

[berryncherry]

Thoughts anyone? Should I separate or not?

If I were you, I would definitely separate them. One of our chicks kept getting pecked. About a day later, it died due to loss of blood. Chicks are very tiny, so a few pecks could do quite a lot of damage.

 

[berryncherry]

It is pretty well-known that chickens love to peck at red. So if any of your chickens draw blood, it is best to separate them before they become even more injured. As they grow up, this problem will generally not be as bad(most of the time). A few pecks wouldn't hurt them as significantly as it would affect a tiny chick.