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HELP!!! Older chick attacking new chicks!!!

Discussion in 'Raising Baby Chicks' started by leela2012, Apr 1, 2012.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Apr 1, 2012 #1
    leela2012

    leela2012 Out Of The Brooder

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    Mar 29, 2012
    San Jose
    Help!
    I have a 4 week old Barred Cochin pullet that is 4 weeks old. She has been in the brooder with 4 other 1 week old chicks with no issue, They have all been together for a week with no problem, She actually is very motherly to them :) So I got 3 new 3 day old Silkies today and put them in with the other babies, and the "momma" Cochin is pecking them really bad. It makes me nervous that she will kill them. Is this normal? I love my new babies and don't want them hurt. Will this 4 weeker stop this anytime soon? They do have the red light which I thought would minimize this. Any advice? I don't want to have to get rid of my Momma bird.
     
  3. Apr 1, 2012 #2
    Tressa27884

    Tressa27884 Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Mar 27, 2011
    East Bay, Ca.
    Are they bleeding? If they're not, she's not pecking them to hurt them, she may be pecking at thier pin feathers, or food in their feathers. If they're bleeding you want to get them out ASAP. I have 23 babies in my brooder, many different ages, they all do fine together.
     
  4. Apr 1, 2012 #3
    leela2012

    leela2012 Out Of The Brooder

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    Mar 29, 2012
    San Jose
    No, they arent bleeding, but she attcks only the new 3 chicks i got today! they are the same size as the smaller chicks and she just seems not to want them there. I'm afraid if I leave them there that she will kill them. Again she doesn't mind the others, just these 3 new silkie babies. Almost like she wants them out, like badly. Do you think if I make brooder box way bigger (it's pretty big already) that she might leave them alone? Is there any other trick to get her to accept them? I don't want to separate them if I don't have to!
     
  5. Apr 1, 2012 #4
    polishchickens111

    polishchickens111 Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Jun 1, 2011
    Over there
    Boredom? Give them all a treat, like tomato or something else like that. Tomato is easy to digest and yummy for chicks.
     
  6. Apr 1, 2012 #5
    felidaet

    felidaet Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Dec 10, 2008
    Vancouver, Wa.
    There may be too much of an age difference. I have had good luck mixing chicks up to 2 weeks difference. I tried mixing them at 3 weeks difference with mixed results. I think 4 weeks is too big of a difference. I would suggest separating the younger ones for a week or so until they get a little bigger and stronger. I had to do this a couple of years ago. I used a piece of scrap hardware cloth to put a temporary divider in the brooder. After 1 week I removed it and they were fine.
     

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