Chook Me!

what makes baby chicks about 1 1/2 month old pick on each other?

my chicks are pecking one another on the tail and other places causing them to bleed. they have no lice so what in the world could be going on. could over crowding be the issue? please help i am worried !

Public Comments

1. You need to get a grinding stone and dull the beaks, this is normal they are getting the picking order establish. If they are on free range they can run away from more aggressive ones but in captivity only solution is grinding the tip so they do not draw blood. This way they will not get infected, and die of infection.
2. DON'T ever grind or clip beaks. This really doesn't help as much as some would have you think and you end up altering the only way the animal can eat and or defend themselves. ALL chickens like the taste of blood and once they get it,they will return to where they got the blood and generally that is on the tail end of another bird. I always remove the hen that is bleeding and keep her seperate from the others until she has healed for 3-4 days. There is also some medicine you can treat a bird with that will deter pecking birds.(If you don't deter the pecking,it IS possible to lose a bird from bleeding.) Over crowding could cause this if the bird is stressed but I would be more worried about them getting too hot if they are over crowded. In establishing pecking order this kind of behavior is normal and when it is all over you will even see a difference in their behavior and there will be no doubt "who rules the roost".