Mean chick

[andor114]

we have a 1 1\ 2 week old chick who keeps pecking the faces of the other 5, any suggestions? It's marking up the smallest one.

 

[sourland]

How much space do they have? Such behavior can be a result of boredom and overcrowding.

 

[Emma Miriam]

That's fairly normal behavior for chicks, but if it's happening often or you think anyone might get injured, you could separate the bully with chicken wire for a day or so. And definitely make sure they have enough brooder space. At that age they should have AT LEAST 1 square foot per chicken. Try putting in a clump of grass or a BabyCake treat so the chicks have something to peck at besides each other. Dowels/sticks to roost on and a box with sand or dirt to dust bathe in are also great diversions to prevent boredom.

Good luck!

 

[rides2far]

Those r all great ideas. I had a mean one, too. She would grab the legs or feet of other chicks, then run with them. We named her Brunhilda. As she got older she quit. She is now our friendliest & our favorite. Her name has morphed into Hildy. Don't give up! Try all those strategies & good luck.

 

[azygous]

You can discipline tiny chicks and it works very quickly. I've had tremendous success with this very simple tactic.

Try to spend time for a couple days observing your chicks, maybe fifteen minutes at a stretch, often throughout the day. When you see the mean chick peck another chick, give it a sharp, but gentle, poke on its back.

Soon you will be able to recognize the signs when it's gearing up to peck. Try to time your poke just before it pecks a chick.

It takes maybe two days of this and the chick won't peck any more.

 

[andor114]

We had to put the chick in timeout today, he's actually attacked one of the chicks to a point of causing bleeding and a wound. Will keep you updated on the progress.

 

[Sarahal88]

Make sure you separate the wounded chick from the others until the blood is not visible. They will be attracted to the color red and they will all start pecking her, which can get nasty pretty quickly. There are products you can also put over the wound to hide it from the others.

For me, chicks picking on each other increased when I used a white bulb for heat instead of red-tinted.

 

[Emma Miriam]

Agreed. Vetericyn Wound Spray (sold at TSC) is a great product to put on a wound, or you could use Neosporin WITHOUT pain killer...the pain killer is toxic to chickens.

Yes, please do keep us updated!

 

[andor114]

So seperating the bully chick hasn't worked the way we hoped. He will immediately attack the young chick but maybe if I wait they will be ok. I hate that he's not able to just stay with his family but he's injuring the young chicks. Thanks for the responses!!

 

[Emma Miriam]

Is his "timeout" area where he can see the other chicks? Sectioning off a part of the brooder so that everyone can see one another but can't peck is the best way generally. At this point, I'd give him 2-3 days in timeout. Hopefully by then he'll have learned his lesson!

And of course, when you do put them all back together, diversions can help. Treat, grass clump, or even a toilet paper roll they can push around and balance on are great temporary diversions.