Picking and Cannibalism???

Picking is a sign of boredom and overcrowding. They need more room. Move them to larger quarters and make sure they have enough food and something to scratch around on the floor for.

Keep the injured chicks apart from the others until they are well. They should get better on their own. Chickens are real mean to one another once they are injured and I have seen an injured chicken get unmercilessly harrassed by other chickens to the point where they can die. Once they are well, you should be able to let them rejoin. But watch how the others react. You might have to keep them seperate for a long while. I have chickens I can't mix because they just don't get along.

 

I know of two ways to stop pecking, because I'm going through the same thing right now. Increase their space and give them more food/more protein. If one is being picked on badly, you can isolate him until he heals, then try to reintroduce him.

 

Just to add to what others have already, wisely, said -

just because the dog crate seemed big enough for your other bunch of chicks does not mean it's large enough for these. They're all different. I think leghorn types are a little more different than most (anyhow my campines, which are a lot like fancy-painted leghorns, are just NUTBAGS, they're always looking like they're auditioning in case they ever make a Road Runner movie ) You have to listen to the chickens' opinions on the matter, and they are clearly indicating they need a lot more room, pronto.

Good luck,

Pat

 

Andalusians AND leghorns are not known for their calm, steady, laid back personalities. Both tend to be high strung breeds, often; athough, of course there is a wide range of individual personalities.

It makes sense to me that those birds are not happy coexisting in that space, even though it's worked in the past for other breeds. They tend to be flighty and like to get out to stretch and get bored easily - I know my andalusians do, anyway.

Get one with a predisposition to bully, and it's a recipe for disaster. And pecking often happens like that - all of a sudden - once one starts then they all figure it's the thing to do. When blood gets drawn, they can't help but peck at the spot over and over until eventually you have at best, a bad wound OR at worst a dead chicken. And to top it off you have chickens who have developed a habit for pecking, and we all know that habits in chickens can be very hard to break or retrain.

If it seems to be one more than the others doing the pecking, isolate that one.

You'll have to cover the red wounds with something or completely isolate each of those chicks until they heal. And I don't mean just a scab, I mean HEAL. As long as the others see the red wound they will be compelled to peck at it. I have a 'quarantine' chicken right now - one of my 8 wk old Amerucana's that was getting picked bloody, even in the grow out pen, which is over 100 sq ft (15 chicks). I tried reintegrating when the wound closed over good but it was a no go, they were right back to pecking his tail again until it was bloody. I'm going to wait another week and then try again to reintegrate. He's finally starting to get feathers again in that place.

Good luck!