What to do to prevent chicks from pecking apart the brooder/eachother?

[concernedaboutchick]

I got a batch of 16 chicks today (currently 14 in the main brooder and 2 separate due to 'pasty butt') and they seem to be doing an awful lot of pecking, both at the paper towels they're on, the wood sides of the brooder (so much so that they're gouging holes in it already) and each other. What would be some good things to put in there with them to keep their pecking occupied? I had a few ideas (a stick, a twig with leaves, an apple) but I wasn't sure if they'd be safe or not so I figured I'd better ask here first to see what sort of thing has worked for other people.

 

[PetChickenBoo]

When i got my chicks they did the same thing for the first day or two and I was concerned. Now it's two weeks later and they rarely peck at each other although they do peck on the box and at their shavings, though not so much as to destroy it. I think initially they were really stressed out and that caused them to peck a lot. I noticed after a few days everyone had really settled down. Hopefully yours will too

 

[Tigerjane]

For the first few days I sprinkled their food on the floor of their brooder (paper towels)

 

[concernedaboutchick]

Actually my biggest problem now is the 2 with pasty butt that are separated in a smaller brooder...one of the two just does not seem to want to leave the other one alone, he keeps latching onto the other one's wing like a dog and I have to physically pry him off. I tried separating them for an hour then putting them back together but he just immediately made a beeline for the other one's wing again...so now I have the chicks in 3 separate brooders, two of which are makeshift. Hoping it'll cease with time, but that one chick seems reaaallll persistent

 

[33yardbirds]

If you are using a heat lamp does it have white light or red? If white, switch to red and it will minimize pecking.

 

[gritsar]

I don't know of any reason why chicks with pasty butt would need to be seperated from the rest of the chicks, unless it is to make them easier to catch and do bottom cleanings. It's not contagious.
You can switch to a red light to minimize frantic pecking. Sometimes the red bulb just seems to calm everybody down.

 

[pkw]

Quote:
I agree with you. I was wondering that myself why the chicks with pasty butt needed to be seperated. I check all my chickies that are up to a few weeks old for pasty butts. I am also wondering if the chicks could be too warm and pecking at each other.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
That was another thought I had as well. In general I've found that too warm chickens are cranky creatures.

 

[concernedaboutchick]

Quote:
It's a red heat lamp

Quote:
At first I thought it might be something else (contagious) and also because the other chicks were pecking at them particularly because of their pasty butt, so I separated them to keep them from being picked on

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

How warm is it in the brooder? Do they seem comfortable with the temps. Chicks that are too warm will tend to be irritable and aggressive.