self pecking chick

[stcroixusvi]

Hi all, two of my chicks are pecking at their breasts. They do not peck at anything else. The spot on both chicks looks a bit damp. They are in a large tub with 20 other chickens that just arrived this morning. I've checked everything - plenty of food, water, heat lamp on one side, and everyone else looks quite healthy. What should I do?

Anne

 

[stcroixusvi]

So they are not pecking at themselves anymore. What a worrier I am!

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Most of us worry about our new chicks! They were probably just grooming themselves and will do this a lot, which means they are happy and comfortable.

 

[stcroixusvi]

I had no idea they would be this much fun. Now, to try and figure out how to get some sleep!

 

[YYZ]

Chicks are so irrisistable

Your a great mom !

.

 

[stcroixusvi]

Thanks - they all had a good night's sleep - and are all up, eating, drinking, pooping and peeping again. Love this! They have doubled overnight, it seems!

 

[heather21]

hey,
i knida have the same problem plz someone tll me im being a worry wart over them but i got an order of chicks monday and today i woke up to one squaking and when i watched who it was i saw her plucking her own feathers on her rear, when i got her she had 'pasty butt' and i have kept her clean and watch her pretty close. Do i need to worry about the plucking? none of the other chicks r pecking her or anything but she grabs her own wing and topples herself..... help!!

 

[Sharon Bee]

Maybe they are bored? Do chicks like toys? What about a little mirror for them to look at themselves?

 

[kynewbchickie]

I have one EE pullet that is pretty self-injurous right now myself. She's really done a doozy of a job pecking herself to pieces on her back, right along the saddle, in the middle. I've cleaned the wound and put Blu Kote on it, but where she's such a light color, everyone (including herself) is very curious about the colored patch on her back. I'm trying to find a way to seclude her in the coop so she can heal. She had the same problem a couple of weeks ago with her tail feathers - kept pulling them out. Hubby says if she doesn't stop after this clears up, he's going to cull her so she doesn't cause herself to bleed to death. :-(

 

[kynewbchickie]

....and, she had to get put down last night. :-( She was bleeding out pretty badly, had a gouge roughly the size of a quarter (actually larger) that was 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep in places. She couldn't keep her eyes open, and was pouring blood everywhere. When we secluded her from the others, she went nuts eating at herself. We'd checked them over for mites, fleas - nothing could have caused her to do this other than just anxiety or irritation to our best guess, and our vet was out of town. Neither of us knew what else to do for her, and it would have been one thing if the others were causing this injury to get worse, but she was doing it to herself so fitfully, she had blood all over her face and beak even after I'd treated it and applied Blu Kote.

I'm not a happy Chicken Mama.