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7L Farm

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I noticed today that my chicks seem to help each other out. This one chick had a feather or hair growing from her wattle & her roommate kept trying to remove it . I guess they keep their buddy's looking pretty. I guess hygiene means something to a chicken.
 
I personally think it was an opportunist move.... I would bet the chicken posing as the groomer, was just looking for a quick bite to eat... My 2 cents.
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Just be glad that it didn't draw blood. If he had, you would have seen innocent groomer go to eating his buddy alive!
 
I don't think so this went on for awhile. They seem real happy together but then again I'm not a chicken. So, yall are saying they don't let their buddy's groom each other.
 
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Just be glad that it didn't draw blood. If he had, you would have seen innocent groomer go to eating his buddy alive!

To be honest the 2 chicks involved seemed to me to be best freinds.
 
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Just be glad that it didn't draw blood. If he had, you would have seen innocent groomer go to eating his buddy alive!

It wasn't a he but a she. I do not have a roo.
 
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Yep, that is what we are saying.

Chickens are pretty simple animals..they are really curious and will check out just about anything to see if it is edible. If it went on for some time it's because the picking bird was trying its best to eat the dander/feather off of the other bird and wasn't able to get it to turn loose. They can all be perfectly happy with each other but if one draws blood or one becomes hurt in any
way the others will pick that spot relentlessly. Usually ends up with the wounded chick dying unless you take action.
 
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Yep, that is what we are saying.

Chickens are pretty simple animals..they are really curious and will check out just about anything to see if it is edible. If it went on for some time it's because the picking bird was trying its best to eat the dander/feather off of the other bird and wasn't able to get it to turn loose. They can all be perfectly happy with each other but if one draws blood or one becomes hurt in any
way the others will pick that spot relentlessly. Usually ends up with the wounded chick dying unless you take action.

OK . I just posted that I thought they were best friends. Who knows? What do I do ? I know they will probably work it out but if there's some think I don't no clue me in .Thanks.
 
A wounding is not always a death sentence. The cannibalism seems to me to be very much a function of keeping birds in close confinement, like so many other problems associated keeping poultry these days. My free range birds do not cannibolize flocks mates but same group in pen scare me with that potential. I would rather run risk of loosing bird to predator once in while to have one bird eat another.

Only cooperation I have seen to date is notifying flock mates of food, predator and huddling together for warmth.
 
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