Hi there,
We have had 2 buff orpington chicks for 1 week and they have been doing great. They have doubled in size in there first week. Today we brought home 2 barred rock chicks that are half the size of the buff orpingtons. As expected, for the 1st 5-10 minutes, the buff orpingtons pecked at them, then things settled down for a few hours. They were eating and drinking together with no problems. Then the all of a sudden, the barred rock chicks went on the offensive. One a little more then the other, but both were aggressively pecking at the eyes of the buff orpington chicks to the point that we said enough is enough and we put a divider in the brooder. So now we have them separated, but don't know what our next step should be. Is it common of smaller chicks to go after ones twice their size that aggressively? How long should we keep them sepatated for?
Mike
We have had 2 buff orpington chicks for 1 week and they have been doing great. They have doubled in size in there first week. Today we brought home 2 barred rock chicks that are half the size of the buff orpingtons. As expected, for the 1st 5-10 minutes, the buff orpingtons pecked at them, then things settled down for a few hours. They were eating and drinking together with no problems. Then the all of a sudden, the barred rock chicks went on the offensive. One a little more then the other, but both were aggressively pecking at the eyes of the buff orpington chicks to the point that we said enough is enough and we put a divider in the brooder. So now we have them separated, but don't know what our next step should be. Is it common of smaller chicks to go after ones twice their size that aggressively? How long should we keep them sepatated for?
Mike