Injured chick or normal????

[nancykay2kay]

I am a first time chicken owner. I have four chicks that are about a week old. One is smaller than the rest and she has a speck of blood on her each nostril. I have them in the garage under a heat lamp. They tend to rough house a little. Could this just be an injury or is it something I need to worry about?

 

[azygous]

It's probably from getting pecked at because it's tinier than the rest.

Chickens will let you know they're sick by their behavior. If this chick continues to be active, alert, good appetite, instead of sleeping a lot and not running around with the others, it's probably okay.

However, the fact that it's smaller than the rest could indicate genetic abnormalities. You'll need to keep an eye on it. Also, you should be observing the chicks for harmful activity and intervene before one ends up badly injured. If you can identify the aggressive chick that may be hurting another, you can discipline it and change the behavior.http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aggressive-baby-chicks-and-how-to-stop-the-behavior

 

[nancykay2kay]

It's probably from getting pecked at because it's tinier than the rest.

Chickens will let you know they're sick by their behavior. If this chick continues to be active, alert, good appetite, instead of sleeping a lot and not running around with the others, it's probably okay.

However, the fact that it's smaller than the rest could indicate genetic abnormalities. You'll need to keep an eye on it. Also, you should be observing the chicks for harmful activity and intervene before one ends up badly injured. If you can identify the aggressive chick that may be hurting another, you can discipline it and change the behavior.http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aggressive-baby-chicks-and-how-to-stop-the-behavior

 

[nancykay2kay]

Thanks for the response. I am going to try to clean the blood off with warm water and a cotton ball so it doesn't effect her breathing and I can tell if there is further bleeding. She seems to be doing normal activity. I am fixing them a larger brooder box. She is a lighter color and is smaller than the rest.