Help with my baby chick please!

[emcook]

I left this morning for a few hours and came home to find my wheaten maran chick with a bloody behind and 2 raw spots on shoulders. The blood is not in stool, as I was just holding her when she pooped and there was no blood. Is another chick pecking her to do this? What do I need to do? Thank you so much! First time chick momma here and I’m freaking out!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes that appears caused by pecking. Maybe you are overcrowded?

Blu Kote will stop the interest in pecking to allow it to heal. Or add some blue food die with a q tip, if you need to. Otherwise separation... once the blood starts flowing... it must be tasty. Cannibalism is real. And if a chick panics all others start pecking sometimes.. like a dog fight they dog for whoever is on bottom.

How many birds in how much space? Is there a place to get away from the heat and cool off?

Bring in some enrichment like a clump of grass/dirt for the chicks to mess with and they will develop some immunity to the bacteria on your pasture before going out full time.

Bright polka dots on brooder walls help chicks get up and go to work hammering to build something every morning.

And switching to a non light emitting heat device for night time use so they sleep through the night instead of being bored 24/7... VERY helpful!

Yes it's another chick, maybe more than one. Good luck resolving this! You should be able to! If you need upgrade to cardboard so you can add more space.

We never get above 60 and my chicks are often on pasture with a huddle box for warmth during the day time at that age... in a tractor for protection and until they know where their safety is at. Usually a week or so. So don't believe it needs to be 90 degrees before you can let your chicks see daylight.

 

[emcook]

I have 5 chicks in a 50 gallon n tote. I’m going to do the blue
Food coloring right now! Also the polka dots and some clumps of grass. Poor little guy, I know that hurts I really appreciate your help! Thank you!

 

[Ducksandchickens]

I have 5 chicks in a 50 gallon n tote. I’m going to do the blue
Food coloring right now! Also the polka dots and some clumps of grass. Poor little guy, I know that hurts I really appreciate your help! Thank you!

Uhh you mean blue kote? Also use saline wound wash.

 

[emcook]

The above poster mentioned blue food dye with a qtip, which I have on hand. Am I not supposed to use that?

 

[OhioStateCluckeyes]

Yes that appears caused by pecking. Maybe you are overcrowded?

Blu Kote will stop the interest in pecking to allow it to heal. Or add some blue food die with a q tip, if you need to. Otherwise separation... once the blood starts flowing... it must be tasty. Cannibalism is real. And if a chick panics all others start pecking sometimes.. like a dog fight they dog for whoever is on bottom.

How many birds in how much space? Is there a place to get away from the heat and cool off?

Bring in some enrichment like a clump of grass/dirt for the chicks to mess with and they will develop some immunity to the bacteria on your pasture before going out full time.

Bright polka dots on brooder walls help chicks get up and go to work hammering to build something every morning.

And switching to a non light emitting heat device for night time use so they sleep through the night instead of being bored 24/7... VERY helpful!

Yes it's another chick, maybe more than one. Good luck resolving this! You should be able to! If you need upgrade to cardboard so you can add more space.

We never get above 60 and my chicks are often on pasture with a huddle box for warmth during the day time at that age... in a tractor for protection and until they know where their safety is at. Usually a week or so. So don't believe it needs to be 90 degrees before you can let your chicks see daylight.

I'm dealing with the exact same thing at the moment. I've taken out the injured girl and the two smallest chicks to a separate tote. I hope that was the right thing to do! I couldn't identify the bully (or bullies). I've sprayed her with the Vetericyn spray. If I use the blue food coloring can I return them to the others? Or should I let her heal first. Thanks for your help!!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm dealing with the exact same thing at the moment. I've taken out the injured girl and the two smallest chicks to a separate tote. I hope that was the right thing to do! I couldn't identify the bully (or bullies). I've sprayed her with the Vetericyn spray. If I use the blue food coloring can I return them to the others? Or should I let her heal first. Thanks for your help!!

What is your heat source? How old are your chicks now? How many in how much space?

Red heat lamps hide wounds AND blood pretty well without the use of blue die. Since I use the brooder plates I also have to add in daytime light as my house is dark.. which I use standard white CFL.. They do make (lower wattage) non heat lamp red bulbs that I would consider swapping to short term if needed.

I do prefer keeping them together if I can resolve the issue well enough to prevent bleeding. Maintaining another brooder just isn't ideal to me and integrating when older is another challenge which is easily doable but not preferred. Pecking order starts to develop around 3 weeks in my experience.

Surprisingly, I have not dealt with this YET.. despite raising hundreds if not a thousand + chicks. I also have never used blue kote or food dye. Truly I know I do nothing special and believe pecking can happen to anyone. The top two culprits that cause it are boredom and crowding as far as I can tell.. even then maybe mostly boredom because I've had my share of (night time) crowding. Boredom turns me into a bit of a monster toward my household also.. sticking my nose in other business, nit picking.. HUH, nit picking JUST now made sense for the first time ever.. it's like picking tiny lice nits off of someone else's hair.

Sometimes, it's not even about bullying but was just curiosity. Preventing it from becoming habit is key, which separation until healed is definitely a good viable option.. unless the smaller "friends" ARE the perpetrators. (since none was identified)

Knowing whether or not we did the right thing is so often about trial and error.. EACH brood and individual are so unique and different that what works one time may or may not exactly work the next.

I personally would try to make some enrichment adjustments and try getting them back together asap.. IF it's a minor wound. If it looks like hamburger then I would wait until healed some more.

Some folks have come up with little see through fencing for divided brooder set ups so they are still together but without further injury.

Not knowing your details makes it hard to give truly valid suggestions.

I can tell though.. She is in good hands and I know she WILL recover quickly!

 

[OhioStateCluckeyes]

What is your heat source? How old are your chicks now? How many in how much space?

Red heat lamps hide wounds AND blood pretty well without the use of blue die. Since I use the brooder plates I also have to add in daytime light as my house is dark.. which I use standard white CFL.. They do make (lower wattage) non heat lamp red bulbs that I would consider swapping to short term if needed.

I do prefer keeping them together if I can resolve the issue well enough to prevent bleeding. Maintaining another brooder just isn't ideal to me and integrating when older is another challenge which is easily doable but not preferred. Pecking order starts to develop around 3 weeks in my experience.

Surprisingly, I have not dealt with this YET.. despite raising hundreds if not a thousand + chicks. I also have never used blue kote or food dye. Truly I know I do nothing special and believe pecking can happen to anyone. The top two culprits that cause it are boredom and crowding as far as I can tell.. even then maybe mostly boredom because I've had my share of (night time) crowding. Boredom turns me into a bit of a monster toward my household also.. sticking my nose in other business, nit picking.. HUH, nit picking JUST now made sense for the first time ever.. it's like picking tiny lice nits off of someone else's hair.

Sometimes, it's not even about bullying but was just curiosity. Preventing it from becoming habit is key, which separation until healed is definitely a good viable option.. unless the smaller "friends" ARE the perpetrators. (since none was identified)

Knowing whether or not we did the right thing is so often about trial and error.. EACH brood and individual are so unique and different that what works one time may or may not exactly work the next.

I personally would try to make some enrichment adjustments and try getting them back together asap.. IF it's a minor wound. If it looks like hamburger then I would wait until healed some more.

Some folks have come up with little see through fencing for divided brooder set ups so they are still together but without further injury.

Not knowing your details makes it hard to give truly valid suggestions.

I can tell though.. She is in good hands and I know she WILL recover quickly!

Thank you for your thoughtful response. This is the brooder I made. There are 10 babies in there. I got them all at once from Rural King but the barred rock girls are at least a week or two older than the rest. The main group is three weeks old.

I have a 125 clear heat lamp for them. But they act like they dont need it. Even so it's on and they are well dispursed in the brooder. I e been turning it off at night so they learn to sleep at night.

I built them a little bordom buster. It's a platform they can climb for water or hide under. I also added another feeder and there are two places to get a drink.

Remy (my pecked baby easter Egger) is looking good today the Vetemycin spray works fast. Less red than yesterday. They never drew blood. Just picked a bald spot and made it red and if left unchecked they would have broken skin in short order.

I'm hoping the weather is going to stay warm soon. I have an empty coop that they can brood in. I lost my entire flock to a neighbors dog a month ago. Im still heartbroken but the little peeps are helping mend me.

So they can have the entire coop as a brooder as soon as weather permits. Power is available for a heat lamp if needed. I use sand as my litter. Its so easy to clean. I have 7 6x10 chain link panels coming. No more dogs!!

I hope I answered all your questions. And I sure appreciate the help. It means a lot!

Diane

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm hoping the weather is going to stay warm soon. I have an empty coop that they can brood in.

Sorry for your loss.

They're definitely getting bored in that space at their (eldest ones) age.

Bring in a clump of dirt with grass still attached if you're able. Add in something colorful or shiny to peck at.. baby toys and marbles work well. (I use the marbles and moving pieces from board games already on hand). Colorful pictures or other things hanging on or attached well to the walls or your platform, I have used both markers and paint (even finger nail polish) successfully.

That little one is still so cute!

Short daytime trips to the coop until moved can help get them used to being handled more as well as harden them off a bit before going out full time.

If grit is available for digestion (or the suggested dirt clump) then live crickets can be a hilarious adventure.

Nice job on the little platform!