Pecking and scratching

[bree_cheese1414]

I’m not sure what this chick is doing but I just got another chick and now the one I already had is pecking and scratching at him as chicks do to the ground to find bugs. Is it normal? I don’t know why to do.

 

[aart]

I’m not sure what this chick is doing but I just got another chick and now the one I already had is pecking and scratching at him as chicks do to the ground to find bugs. Is it normal? I don’t know why to do.

How old are these birds?
You just added the one new bird in with the one(?) other bird?
Need more info.

 

[bree_cheese1414]

I’m not sure what this chick is doing but I just got another chick and now the one I already had is pecking and scratching at him as chicks do to the ground to find bugs. Is it normal? I don’t know why to do.

How old are these birds?
You just added the one new bird in with the one(?) other bird?
Need more info.

I got a chick like 5 days old and then I went out and bought another 5 days old chick. And the one I got first was scratching and pecking the other one while it was sleeping.

 

[aart]

How many days between?
Please post a pic of your brooder.

 

[bree_cheese1414]

How many days between?
Please post a pic of your brooder.

 

[aart]

Pic is too close, need to see the whole thing.
But I'm guessing your have too much heat there.


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

They need to be pretty warm (~85°-90F/30-32C)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.