Pecking order or aggression

[Katejc]

Hi everyone! I have recently become a first time chick mom. We received 2 abandoned week old chicks from a good friend early Sept (assuming easter eggers?) and then recently purchased 2 silkie chicks (chicken math is real). Our easter eggers are about 3 weeks now and just constantly picking on eachother. They will sit and roost together but apart from that there is a lot of wing flapping, chest bumping and overall dominance struggling. Is this normal pecking order 3 week old behaviour or do I have 2 roos? The silkies are hilarious. Much more still and quiet but they immediately put these 2 in their place when they all have playtime together.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
It sounds normal to me, and no injuries, right?
Pictures of your brooder will help here. If they are crowded, or having other issues with their environment, more problems can crop up.
And pictures of your chicks!
Mary

 

[Katejc]

Brooder and chick photos! We have them in a large dog crate and we are building a coop. They are very active and quickly outgrowing this setup. The silkies are not active at all but I believe a week younger.

 

[chickenman9000]

You probably want to separate them from each other until your coop is built

 

[SurferchickinSB]

View attachment 1910522 View attachment 1910523View attachment 1910524View attachment 1910525View attachment 1910526View attachment 1910527View attachment 1910528 View attachment 1910522 Brooder and chick photos! We have them in a large dog crate and we are building a coop. They are very active and quickly outgrowing this setup. The silkies are not active at all but I believe a week younger.

They will need more room most likely by next week, so you might try getting cardboard boxes and taping them into one big box. I wouldn’t separate them because it can cause problems later.

 

[chickenman9000]

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=large+pla...tubs-6/Real-Men-Use-Large-Plastic-Tubs-15.jpg

 

[chickenman9000]

A large lifetime tub would work

 

[Katejc]

I have a decent size sunroom I think I am going to move them to. I had already considered it but I needed an extra nudge. It will help them with the transition to outdoors as well. I will keep their brooder light in there for now. Thanks for your input everyone!

 

[Folly's place]

They are all cute!
I think that the light colored chick is a cockerel, and while it's really too soon to judge those Silkies, also wonder about the black/ gray one.
Mary