I need help with my chicks.

[AAJ]

I have chicks ranging from 1 month-3months old and I just let them out of the cage inside the chicken pen to run around. Two of them were fighting ruff and one's comb head is bleeding. How can I stop this. also how can I tell the difference between male and female.

I have white silkies.

 

[JakRat]

Oh the pecking order! So annoying but necessary for them I guess.

The best you can do is watch them carefully, they should work things out soon hopefully. You can put stuff on them to make them not peck and bite, but they will fight.

Can you post pictures?

The three month olds you should be able to tell by now if they are boys or girls.

Also you can go to the What Breed/Gender postings.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Remove the chick with the bleeding comb or else the sight of blood may be an irresistible temptation to peck. A lot of people on this forum like using Blue Kote to treat wounds because the antiseptic has a blue tint that hides the red blood and any bare skin (It is sold in farm stores.)

Unfortunately, the younger chicks will be a target for bullying for a while.

I have heard that it is harder to tell the difference between male and female in young silkies. If you want to post some pics of the older ones, the forum members could give their opinion on the sex.

 

[bargain]

Remove the chick with the bleeding comb or else the sight of blood may be an irresistible temptation to peck. A lot of people on this forum like using Blue Kote to treat wounds because the antiseptic has a blue tint that hides the red blood and any bare skin (It is sold in farm stores.)

Unfortunately, the younger chicks will be a target for bullying for a while.

I have heard that it is harder to tell the difference between male and female in young silkies. If you want to post some pics of the older ones, the forum members could give their opinion on the sex.

Great advise, I put treats out in the baby run when I let them out, this keeps them from picking at each other. Give them healthy chopped up greens of some sort! And yes, very hard to tell boy vs girl with the silkies!