Poults pecking

[brandislee]

My poults are pecking at each other- is this normal? Nothing looks bad yet- one did have a bare spot with a tiny speck of blood on the shoulder, so I brought him/her inside and sprayed it with blue coat to try to cover up the blood and deter any more pecking. Is there anything else I should do? They're in a brooder with a lamp, lots of space for now (8 of them in a 2.5x3.5 box... I'll have to move them in a few weeks, but not crowded now) and on game feed... I believe 26% protein, if not higher.

These are my first poults, I don't know if I should freak out about this or not!

Meanwhile, my broiler chicks are being their adorable, fluffy, low maintenance selves in the other brooder...

 

[chooks4life]

Artificially housed poults and chooks are notorious for cannabalism but what you're describing could just be the sorting out of the natural pecking order, or boredom, since there's not much other stimulation to occupy them.

On the other hand I've always raised my turkey chicks free ranging about the farm with their mother and some of the clutches have had terrible fights... Even at only about 3 weeks old... A pair of siblings would just decide to go at it hammer and tongs, and the winner would continue to beat the loser (if the winner even could be discerned), and eventually after hours of screaming I'd separate them; they'd usually be locked beak to beak, neither relenting, or side by side, panting, exhausted but unwilling (or unable?) to stop, hiding their heads under eachother's bodies.

The turkeys I've had are mostly psychopaths, if you can even call a bird that...Having said that, though, they didn't repeat their battles as adults, and never drew blood or injured one another, despite their epic battles. If yours aren't drawing blood, besides that little speck, hopefully it's just baby-wars. They do love hard-boiled egg mixed with dandelion leaves, that'd probably distract them if it's a protein issue. Also it prevents deaths from tuberculosis somehow. I lost the majority of each clutch to TB before I gave them that, but it is a lotta extra work... And expense.