Month old Salmon Faverolle bullying smaller sibling

[llcardinale]

Hello from a first time chick mom: Help! I got five Salmon Faverolle day old chicks (along with four German Bielefelder, who have been totally lovely) who are now one month old. One SF is half the size of the others and has started to be feather picked by another SF. Now that smaller feather picked chick has begun pecking on all the other chicks, especially targeting eyes. I'm beginning to consider surrendering her to my vet. Feedback from anyone with a similar experience would be appreciated. (Note: I have nine chicks in a 42 sq. ft. brooder housed in a 400 sq. ft. backhouse, which has excellent ventilation, exhaust fans at each end, hepa filter air purifier, and am feeding Scratch & Peck organic starter mash.)

 

[thecatumbrella]

Just to clarify, the 9 chicks live exclusively in the 42 sqft brooder? At a month old, they need to be spending warm days outside with lots of space and things to interact with. Yours are clearly getting bored.

Do you have a coop and run prepared for them?

 

[llcardinale]

This is the first I've heard that they should be outside at a month old. The small one, who is at issue, is the size of a two week old. Our temperature is about 60F, so I think that's too chilly for her size, and isn't there an issue of their immune system not being quite developed enough?

 

[nuthatched]

This is the first I've heard that they should be outside at a month old. The small one, who is at issue, is the size of a two week old. Our temperature is about 60F, so I think that's too chilly for her size, and isn't there an issue of their immune system not being quite developed enough?

They can go out. Hens don't keep babies inside, neither do you.
Mine are fully out by a week with a heat pad cave.
Sounds like their bored and she's an easy target because she's a runt.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not familiar with that feed. The analysis looks great, that's the percent of nutrients provided. The name says it is a mash which means it is ground into a powder but the photo shows it not ground. They tell you to provide grit which implies it needs to be ground up in their gizzard. They need grit for that so I'd make sure they are getting some grit.

Nine chicks one month old have a lot of room in a 42 square feet brooder. That is a huge amount of room. Overcrowding is not your problem. I've kept a lot more chicks in a smaller brooder until they were 5 weeks old without your problems.

What are your coldest temperatures. I don't know if that 60 degrees Fahrenheit is your high or low. Chicks a month old should be able to handle a low of 60 F.

It is not that they "should" be outside at a month old, but that they "can" as long as they can handle the temperatures. Broody hens often have their chicks out a day or two after they hatch. Some of us have the chicks out well before a month. We are all different with different conditions and set-ups, I try to not tell you what you should do but more of what you can do.

I don't know why that chick is pecking the others. I once had a 2-week-old being raised by a broody hen in over 2000 square feet of space kill a sibling by pecking it on the head. Not crowded at all. Then it started pecking another sibling on the head. That's when I noticed what was going on. I isolated that chick (2 weeks old but the weather was warm) for the rest of the day, probably 10 hours. I let it out to spend the night with the broody and its siblings. It stopped trying to kill its siblings.

Isolating them does not always work. You can try that if you wish but I think the vet is a viable option, especially if isolation does not work. I think this falls under the category of "solve for the peace of the flock". At the end of the day you and your flock will be happier without that chick if that chick can't learn to quit that pecking.

 

[llcardinale]

I'm not familiar with that feed. The analysis looks great, that's the percent of nutrients provided. The name says it is a mash which means it is ground into a powder but the photo shows it not ground. They tell you to provide grit which implies it needs to be ground up in their gizzard. They need grit for that so I'd make sure they are getting some grit.

Nine chicks one month old have a lot of room in a 42 square feet brooder. That is a huge amount of room. Overcrowding is not your problem. I've kept a lot more chicks in a smaller brooder until they were 5 weeks old without your problems.

What are your coldest temperatures. I don't know if that 60 degrees Fahrenheit is your high or low. Chicks a month old should be able to handle a low of 60 F.

It is not that they "should" be outside at a month old, but that they "can" as long as they can handle the temperatures. Broody hens often have their chicks out a day or two after they hatch. Some of us have the chicks out well before a month. We are all different with different conditions and set-ups, I try to not tell you what you should do but more of what you can do.

I don't know why that chick is pecking the others. I once had a 2-week-old being raised by a broody hen in over 2000 square feet of space kill a sibling by pecking it on the head. Not crowded at all. Then it started pecking another sibling on the head. That's when I noticed what was going on. I isolated that chick (2 weeks old but the weather was warm) for the rest of the day, probably 10 hours. I let it out to spend the night with the broody and its siblings. It stopped trying to kill its siblings.

Isolating them does not always work. You can try that if you wish but I think the vet is a viable option, especially if isolation does not work. I think this falls under the category of "solve for the peace of the flock". At the end of the day you and your flock will be happier without that chick if that chick can't learn to quit that pecking.

Hi, thank you for all of your feedback. I ended up taking the chick to the vet today. She reported that the chick has a pretty bad beak deformity, which was causing fluid back-up into her nose and making breathing and eating difficult, which was why she was constantly eating and having difficulty putting on weight. She said the condition could be managed, but that it would require rather intensive beak care. She said chicks with this condition can do alright with the proper beak management. She said she will keep her in a brooder without bedding to see if this helps with her persistent scratching and feather pulling. I decided to surrender the chick to her. She has her own small flock and will take her home to join her flock once the chick has improved and gained weight. This vet is truly a saint. I've never had such a great vet before--I'm so grateful, and relieved.

 

[llcardinale]

They can go out. Hens don't keep babies inside, neither do you.
Mine are fully out by a week with a heat pad cave.
Sounds like their bored and she's an easy target because she's a runt.

Thanks again for your response. I took her to the vet today. Turns out that she has a pretty severe beak/throat deformity that was making both eating and breathing, and weight gain difficult. I have an amazing vet who was willing to take her and provide the intensive beak management that will be required for her to survive. She has her own small flock and said she will have the chick join her flock once her health has improved and she's gained weight, as she's very small for her age. Thanks again for your feedback.