Could be a roo. Regardless, he/she needs some lessons in manners. First lesson being: do not peck the human. While it may be cute, when he is small, cute little chicks grow up to be big chickens, with a peck that is capable of causing some serious injury. When he pecks you, peck him back with your finger. Or, pick him up and then use your index finger on the other hand to push his head down below chest level. Repeat till he willingly keeps his head down when you remove the finger.
I would reduce the temp under the lamp until they go under it for heat. I know that this goes a bit contrary to "heat lamp 101". But, in a small area like this it is so very easy to overheat chicks. You can raise the lamp, decrease to a lower watt bulb, or put a dimmer switch on it. Many of us have ceased using heat lamps altogether, and now use a heating pad to give a much more natural and safer brooding experience. I also don't see how you have that heat lamp secured. IMO it should have 2 methods of securing it so it can't fall or get knocked out of position and cause a fire. It should not be close enough to any surface that ithe surface gets hot to the touch.
[COLOR=333333]- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks? Take the incubator for a test drive: set it up in the room that it will be used in, put some sealed water bottles in it to approximate the liquid volume of the eggs being set. Calibrate thermometers, and hygrometer. Check bator for warm/cold spots and install air baffles to correct, or make note so eggs can be positioned accordingly (I have 2 home made bators.) Read "Hatching Eggs 101" in the learning center. I've hatched eggs for the past 4 years, and ALWAYS read this article before plugging my bator in every spring. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Get your brooder set up. If using MHP, get the frame(s) set up with the heating pad(s) and the covering material. Be sure to secure covering in such a way chicks can't get caught in the material or in any tape or other materials used. Be sure the heating pad(s) work. Start some FF for the chicks, if the adult flock is not already eating the same feed the chicks will be getting. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]- Tell me about your brooder(s) [COLOR=333333] For the first couple of days, I brood in my basement/garage in either an appliance box (with a cover) or bring in my 3' x 6' tractor. Shower curtain or tarp on the floor, a nice thick layer of shavings, (and paper towels for the first 2 days). Be sure feeders and waterers are clean and ready to use. Purchase starter crumble if not already using it for the adult flock. When chicks are eating well, I remove the paper towels, and complete the conversion to feeding only from the chick feeders. For the first couple of days, I supply both dry crumble and fermented feed. Then, I remove the dry crumble and switch them to 100% FF. [/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333] Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors? They stay inside (basement or garage) for the first couple of days, until they are all eating and using their heating pad brooder appropriately. Then, they are moved out into my spare coop where they are in a 4 x 8 loft for a couple of weeks before being allowed to have the lower 8 x 12 deep litter run area as well. By the time they are 3 weeks old, they are flitting around in that whole loft/run like a bunch of parakeets.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc) If hatching eggs, see to it that your flock is in prime condition to be supplying the healthiest eggs possible: My flock gets fermented feed. I let them out to range when I can be available to deal with any predators that show up. We have big issue with hawk predation. I also provide supplemental vitamins, which make a decided difference in shell quality and egg size. If greens not available in my yard, the flock gets sprouted grains. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]I have Poultry Nutri-Drench available and use it every other day for the first week or so. If I have stressed chicks (more often with shipped chicks) I might mix up some electrolytes for them. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Healthy guts = healthy immune systems. Chicks are hatched with immunity received from their mothers. This lasts about 2 weeks. That gives you a 2 week window to build a healthy immunity in your chicks. Fermented feed is loaded with probiotics to jump start their gut flora. It also has some extra vitamins that are manufactured by the yeast in the FF. And the anti-nutrients are broken down, so the FF is easier to digest than dry feed. A plug of sod from your yard will give them: beneficial bacteria and fungi to further supply their guts with good flora. It will also give them their first exposure to the pathogens (including cocci) that are in all soils. DON"T PANIC! Cocci are in all soils, and are a natural flora in a chicken's gut. It's only when the bad guys outnumber the good guys that a chicken will get sick. That plug of sod will also give your chicks: their first grit, some minerals, their first greens, their first insects, and perhaps some worms. Their first dust bath, and an opportunity to play king of the hill. They will have infinite play opportunities with it. When they wear that clump out, go get them an other one! [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Brooder: Make it big enough. Chicks need room to play. By the time you have their heat source, their feeder, and their waterer in there, there is often little room left for the chicks to move around. The brooder needs to be big enough that the chicks can be under their heat source to warm up, but able to move away from that heat to get to an area that is room temperature. I cringe when I see chicks confined to little boxes or rubbermaid tubs, with a heat lamp shining down on them. It's so very easy to over heat those chicks. If you ever see chicks laying down with wings spread or panting, they are too warm. That is an emergency situation IMO. I like to hang my waterer. It makes it super easy to adjust the height and keep them from kicking bedding into it. A wet brooder is an invite to illness.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Stress reduction: Give them a minimum of 1 s.f./chick for the first couple of weeks. After 2 - 3 weeks, I like to see them have 2 s.f./chick. Crowded birds of any age will engage in destructive behavior. Give them the opportunity to engage in normal chicken behavior, and they will be too busy to feather pick, or engage in cannibalism. IMO the best possible brooding is accomplished with a heating pad cave for a heat source. It more closely mimics the heat provided by a broody hen. MHP chicks will sing themselves to sleep. I've never heard that contented trill from a heat lamp chick. MHP chicks are already adjusted to natural day/night cycles. Not so with heat lamp chicks. They often go into total panic when they experience dark! MHP chicks all go to bed together, and get up together. This encourages normal social and flock structure. Heat lamp chicks are up all hours of the day and night. When one chick does manage to fall asleep, he often gets trampled by the ones who are participating in the "all night jammie party". MHP chicks are very easily brooded outdoors. It's a bit more difficult to brood heat lamp chicks outdoors. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Anything you'd like to add? Don't hatch chicks unless you have an exit plan for the roos, and any chicks that have developmental or genetic abnormalities. [/COLOR]
