My baby chick is being PICKED on by all the other chicks

[Pridmore68]

I recently bought my second batch of chickens on Wednesday, ( 6 female Sussex and 1 don’t know gender yet Crevecoeur ). The first day they seemed fine had little pasty butt here and there nothing alarming. The next day I started to see a little pecking when it came to the 1 crevecoeur and the crevecoeur is the only one with a pasty butt now. But today the crevecoeur was jumped by 3 Sussex so we separated the crevecoeur with a barrier in there tub so the can see each other. And after some time I put 1 Sussex with the crevecoeur and they seemed fine and awhile after that I added a second Sussex and after 5 minutes both Sussex grabbed the crevecoeur by it’s legs and jumped them again. So I separated them again (without a see through barrier) 1 on one side the other 6 on the other but I felt bad for the crevecoeur for being all alone so I picked up another crevecoeur so they can have a buddy in isolation. But the new one started to peck on the old one so I put the new one with the 6 Sussex and they seem fine to be together. And at this point the first crevecoeur looks deathly, limps a little, and seems to be so stressed out. Please help?!?! I’m scared I’m going to fall asleep and wake with a dead chick.

 

[aart]

How old are these chicks...the first batch and the second batch?
How many of each?
Please post pics of your brooder set up.

Could be that first crevecoeur is sick?
Did you get them all from the same place?

Oh, and......Welcome to BYC! @Pridmore68
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Pridmore68]

In The first picture is our recent batch we picked up on Thursday (are all from the same batch).They only have tiny feathers on the tips of their wings. We just went back to the store Saturday to by another one. Hopes that the only reason why he or she was being pick one was because of its color? We are in FL so I have this set up with a temp sensor in with them to monitor the temp 24/7. I wrap blankets around the crate and bin to keep the heat in at night, away from the heat lamp. Husband is in the fire safety line so he keeps me good.
Today Sunday I was able to put 2 of the Sussex back with the injured chic they all seem to be getting along. But I am afraid of letting them all back together. Am I doing more damage are should I let nature take its course.
The other dog crate you see is holding our 2 1/2 week old chicks. We tried to introduce them but the baby chicks just seem to be too little. So I thought I’d hold off until they get a little bigger. But the older chicks can see the little chicks when they are roosting. Plus I keep the dog crate open all day with a path that leds out the porch door. The let them out side for an hour a day while we sit with them. Don’t want any hawks to get them. But we have had two back snake in the last two day make their way in to the porch. Thank god my dog alerted us.
Please let me know if I have a bad set up. The first batch seems to be pretty happy to see me they come running to me when I step into their run area.
Thank you for the welcome!

How old are these chicks...the first batch and the second batch?
How many of each?
Please post pics of your brooder set up.

Could be that first crevecoeur is sick?
Did you get them all from the same place?

Oh, and......Welcome to BYC! @Pridmore68
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2085992

 

[aart]

That bin is too small.

Heat lamp rig scares the he!! out of me.
I know that ice spud(?) is probably very heavy and somewhat protected from being knocked over, but still.
Relying on just the lamp clamp is risky.
....and wondering how and where you are measuring temps.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.