Pecking order

[Lucretia]

Hi guys! I've posted a couple of times about one of my little Red Star chicks, one of 10 one month old chicks we have. She was under the weather a week ago or so -- all better now, thank goodness! But now I'm wondering if the problem wasn't so much her health as her status in the flock....the thing that had worried me was that she was sitting by herself (and when I saw her like that, she was asleep with her wings a little droopy). So I isolated her, kept her warm, gave her vitamins and stuff, and she seemed to be fine, eating and drinking and all that.

Now she's back with the flock, but she still seems to be staying by herself when she roosts. When she's active, she's right there with the rest of them. Any ideas on what's going on there? Is this normal pecking order or is there something I should be concerned about?

Any help would be great!

~Lu

 

[SimplyForties]

I wouldn't be concerned unless she's showing signs of the other birds pecking on her - blood, pulled feather, etc. Maybe she's just a loner!

 

[Lucretia]

Thanks! She seems to get along with them just fine...they steal her grubs from her every now and then but no fighting so far, thank goodness! I'll keep an eye on her just to make sure she isn't bullied too much.

~Lu

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I wouldn't worry about it.

I had one little RIR that stayed to itself a lot. Usually sleeping right under the heat lamp while the others were spread out. She would sleep a lot and the other's would be playing and running around. Occasionally, one would go over and peck her softly and she'd jump up.

She was that way until she was 6 wks or so and then started growing more sleeping less. She then got bigger than the other RIR. Today, at almost 14 wks old, I can't tell the difference between the two.

Good luck with your little one.