last hatch and the smallest getting picked on (pic)

[sarah92780]

They are plucking his feathers. He is the smallest and last hatched. Should I separate them or will he die without the others?

 

[sarah92780]

 

[USAmma]

Poor thing! :-( I'm new to this myself, but wondering if they are all picking on him, or just a few of them? Have you tried putting one or two in with him and see if any are nicer?

 

[sarah92780]

I did I tried two smaller ones and they were fine with him. But I kinda felt bad putting them in a small brooder just because he's getting picked on lol I have too many feelings for this bird raising stuff lol

 

[GrandmaBird]

try removing the larger birds the ones you know or suspect are doing the picking, for several hours or even one day if you have the extra brooder. then rearrange the brooder and re introduce the trouble makers. this usually helps them not be so territorial. good luck.

 

[bigrob83]

at this age its fairly uncommon to have aggression
does he have poop stuck to him? is he spotted?

for lack of a better term quail chicks are "dumb"
they will peck at poop stuck to feathers and toes they think are worms
normally it goes away however if they create a wound they will keep at it
best to seperate until wound heals and/or they grow out of it which happens pretty quickly
once they learn where the feeder is and how to feed properly they generally stop

 

[USAmma]

try removing the larger birds the ones you know or suspect are doing the picking, for several hours or even one day if you have the extra brooder. then rearrange the brooder and re introduce the trouble makers. this usually helps them not be so territorial. good luck.

I did this with my "brat" chick and it worked great. It only picks very randomly once in awhile now, rather than all the time like it was a hobby.

 

[itszen4me]

I just logged in because I'm having the same issue! I hatched 9 yesterday, 8 of which survived. I noticed that one of the hatchlings was picking on all of the others, chasing them and even pulling their feathers and legs. I placed him in a large see through container in a corner of the brooder and he immediately started chirpring non-stop. I put another hatchling in there with him and he stopped chirping. he's kind of bullying the other chick but he isn't pecking at him. I'll reintroduce them tomorrow and again when they're a little bigger if needed.

Thanks

 

[Bill g]

I use the non-slide kitchen cabinet liner for floor of the brooder but also put hay and pine shavings around the edges. It seems to give them something to pick at instead of each other.

 

[Bill g]