One Mean Chick.....

[danielle2003]

We just got 12 chicks yesterday....8 Welsummer and 4, what we thought were Prairie Bluebells, but they have a single comb and not a pea comb, so now I don't think so. They're gray blue, no feathers on feet, and single combed.
Anyway, I noticed that one Welsummer chick is pecking pretty hard on a few others. Like pulling on the feather, and making them screech. There's no blood though (yet). What should I do? She cannot be returned to the store where we got them. I would hate to separate her, as she's only about a week old at the most. But I'm worried about the others, and it's sad to watch.
Thank you for the advice!

 

[SmiYa0126]

We just got 12 chicks yesterday....8 Welsummer and 4, what we thought were Prairie Bluebells, but they have a single comb and not a pea comb, so now I don't think so. They're gray blue, no feathers on feet, and single combed.
Anyway, I noticed that one Welsummer chick is pecking pretty hard on a few others. Like pulling on the feather, and making them screech. There's no blood though (yet). What should I do? She cannot be returned to the store where we got them. I would hate to separate her, as she's only about a week old at the most. But I'm worried about the others, and it's sad to watch.
Thank you for the advice!

Sounds like it could be a cockerel, how much room do they have?

I put mine in juvy for half a day from the others, improved the behavior!

 

[danielle2003]

Sounds like it could be a cockerel, how much room do they have?

I put mine in juvy for half a day from the others, improved the behavior.

Their brooder is a box that is 32" wide and 37" long . We sectioned off a strip of the box for "juvy" that is about 9 inches, leaving 28" long left. Here's a picture. It looks so sad seeing "him" in there. How long will he need to stay there?

 

[SmiYa0126]

Try an hour. Mine was two months when I put him away for half a day.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Is it fully pulling feathers out? It could be a cockerel but it also could just be the bird’s personality in general, I had one out of my two cinnamon queens and three EEs, that would always attack the others, fully jumping at them, pecking and scratching with no actual injuries but now she’s my shyest hen and doesn’t care for the pecking order or flock in the slightest, she’s always off by herself if she gets bored of following the flock and makes sure my silkie roo is too scared to get near her

 

[danielle2003]

Is it fully pulling feathers out? It could be a cockerel but it also could just be the bird’s personality in general, I had one out of my two cinnamon queens and three EEs, that would always attack the others, fully jumping at them, pecking and scratching with no actual injuries but now she’s my shyest hen and doesn’t care for the pecking order or flock in the slightest, she’s always off by herself if she gets bored of following the flock and makes sure my silkie roo is too scared to get near her

Yes, she/he (I don't know if it's a hen or a roo) pulls the feathers out. Right now, the chick is separated from the rest. Can a chick be alone. I was thinking if he/she keeps this up, then it may need to be separated for days. Would it be possible to make a pet out of him/her? If it had constant human interaction, could it live alone? The only option would be to put the chick down. I can't sell an aggressive chick and the store doesn't accept returns.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Yes, she/he (I don't know if it's a hen or a roo) pulls the feathers out. Right now, the chick is separated from the rest. Can a chick be alone. I was thinking if he/she keeps this up, then it may need to be separated for days. Would it be possible to make a pet out of him/her? If it had constant human interaction, could it live alone? The only option would be to put the chick down. I can't sell an aggressive chick and the store doesn't accept returns.

It’s not healthy for them to be alone, they’re flock birds so they need a flock, they’ll either get depressed or very loud all the time, it might grow out of it? Or if you find another chicken that will put it in its place. I say no harm no fowl so as long as there is no blood, scabbing or skin irritations from the pecking they should be fine. Another option is to see if someone has is selling a older chick to keep with it, if neither of those work I’d say culling it is the best option or seeing if anyone on Craigslist or somewhere would take it, making sure to mark it as agressive of course.
I don’t do chicken culling so it’s never the best option for it in my opinion but it might be

 

[JustBabyMargo]

I had a chick like this. It was a couple days old, and I was sure it was a boy because it was so aggressive, and it would pluck out feathers and make the others bleed. I separated it for a few days, letting it back in with its friends for supervised visits every now and then to see if it would finally behave. It often would not, so I had to continue to keep it separate. It was the most awful chick, and I was thinking it would have to be culled. I even put a mirror in with it so it wouldn’t be lonely, and it pecked itself over and over in the mirror!

It ended up doing great after 3-5 days or so being separated, and even now, she is doing great and is super sweet at almost 2 months old. (Yes, she was actually just a very aggressive pullet) As long as it is near other chicks so it can hear them, it will be fine separated for a while. You could try adding in a small mirror and/or a small stuffed animal for it to socialize and snuggle with. Maybe it will settle down, mine did. Keep it separated for as long as it needs, and put it back with its friends once it settles down some. Otherwise, you can put a friend in with it, one it doesn’t bully, if there are any, and see if that will help it. I would definitely keep it separate, either on its own or with a friend.

You are on the right track. Good luck!

 

[danielle2003]

I say no harm no fowl so as long as there is no blood, scabbing or skin irritations from the pecking they should be fine.

When I put her (I'm just going to assume it's a hen, I could be wrong though) together, she's constantly bothering others. For now, while she's separated, I put a different chick in there to keep her company, but then she starts picking on that one too. It seems that she just has an aggressive streak. It's funny though, she has such a tame disposition with people. I would hate to lose her. If I put her in with the rest, will she teach this bad habit to the rest of the flock?

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

When I put her (I'm just going to assume it's a hen, I could be wrong though) together, she's constantly bothering others. For now, while she's separated, I put a different chick in there to keep her company, but then she starts picking on that one too. It seems that she just has an aggressive streak. It's funny though, she has such a tame disposition with people. I would hate to lose her. If I put her in with the rest, will she teach this bad habit to the rest of the flock?

Oh no they won’t get that habit, they might be a bit more agressive to new hens because they want to get higher in the pecking order but the behavior wouldn’t rub off on them, if anything they’ll just stay scared of her and respect her