OK, PLEASE help me out here.
I would love some sympathy, but if anyone has any other suggestions, that would be good too.
I grew up with chickens, and have raised my own for a few years now. I have also read lots on BYC.
My about four week chickens started to EAT each other!
Like huh?
I have:
5 white leghorn
2 light Brahma
2 Golden Comets
3 white Cochin
2 Rhode Island Red
And also 10 bantams.
They had been in my bathtub (blach)
But I just moved them, maybe three or four nights back, to the coop. It is an 8x8 coop, 8 foot tall. I have them locked only in the coop, since they are so little, and it is way bigger than my bathtub, and sheesh, they are still so very little, it should have been lots of space for them. I did have a red heat lamp as well as a heater for the first few nights. I know that 14 LF and 10 bantams is too many for an 8x8 coop when they are grown, but I really think that the size is perfect for them right now.
They have two feeders, long ones, so lots of feeder space, and one small waterer.
I also put in two boxes, one on its side, and one upright for them to play in. I used hay for bedding, so it has lots of seed heads in it for them to find and play with. I also tossed in some stale popcorn (no seasonings or salt) just for something else for them to play with.
WHY DID THEY STILL DECIDE TO EAT EACH OTHER?
I know that space and boredom are the two biggest factors in cannibalism. But I do think that the 8x8 looks like plenty of space while they are still so little, and I had stuff in there for them to play with too.
I wonder if it is the leghorns fault. I haven't ever tried them before, and those were the only ones where I saw blood on their beaks.
So, I cleaned off all of the blood with Hydrogen Peroxide and then coated the woods with an herbal wound solution.
The first one I finished, I put back in with the rest, and several chicks ran after it like piranhas! I guess because they saw some feather shafts? All of the blood was gone. So, I picked her back up, cleaned her back up, and put her in a dog crate in the coop with the other chewed up chick. A third chick had also been chewed, but after I cleaned her up her good feathers completely covered the picked on area, so I let her in with the rest, and no one went after her.
Stuff I did after doctoring the chicks.
I added one more box to the coop, a piece of plywood leaned against the wall that the chicks can hide behind as well as lots of lettuce and more popcorn. I also put in a piece of 4x4 for them to climb on.
I also took out the heater thinking that maybe a cooler coop would also reduce cannibalism.
The dog kennel does take up some of the floor space, but there still seems to be lots of space for the chicks, and I was thinking that maybe some of the leghorns (the only ones that could maybe fly that high) cold try to fly up to the top and that will give them one more thing to play with.
What do you'll think?
Could it have been that:
1. I got hatchery leghorns
2. Coop too hot (maybe in the high 60s or low 70s)
3. Way too much light (it is Alaska, so lots of light, but except for the red heat lamp I didn't give them any, just the sun)
With my very first flock, I had 25 all LF, in that same coop. And when they were about 8 weeks there was some feather picking since I hadn't let them out of the coop yet, but that was it, there was no cannibalism. Because of that, I just don't think that it is the coop size. But that time, I had no Leghorns. I had Easter Eggers, Light Brahmas, and I can't remember what else.
I would love some sympathy, but if anyone has any other suggestions, that would be good too.
I grew up with chickens, and have raised my own for a few years now. I have also read lots on BYC.
My about four week chickens started to EAT each other!
Like huh?
I have:
5 white leghorn
2 light Brahma
2 Golden Comets
3 white Cochin
2 Rhode Island Red
And also 10 bantams.
They had been in my bathtub (blach)
But I just moved them, maybe three or four nights back, to the coop. It is an 8x8 coop, 8 foot tall. I have them locked only in the coop, since they are so little, and it is way bigger than my bathtub, and sheesh, they are still so very little, it should have been lots of space for them. I did have a red heat lamp as well as a heater for the first few nights. I know that 14 LF and 10 bantams is too many for an 8x8 coop when they are grown, but I really think that the size is perfect for them right now.
They have two feeders, long ones, so lots of feeder space, and one small waterer.
I also put in two boxes, one on its side, and one upright for them to play in. I used hay for bedding, so it has lots of seed heads in it for them to find and play with. I also tossed in some stale popcorn (no seasonings or salt) just for something else for them to play with.
WHY DID THEY STILL DECIDE TO EAT EACH OTHER?
I know that space and boredom are the two biggest factors in cannibalism. But I do think that the 8x8 looks like plenty of space while they are still so little, and I had stuff in there for them to play with too.
I wonder if it is the leghorns fault. I haven't ever tried them before, and those were the only ones where I saw blood on their beaks.
So, I cleaned off all of the blood with Hydrogen Peroxide and then coated the woods with an herbal wound solution.
The first one I finished, I put back in with the rest, and several chicks ran after it like piranhas! I guess because they saw some feather shafts? All of the blood was gone. So, I picked her back up, cleaned her back up, and put her in a dog crate in the coop with the other chewed up chick. A third chick had also been chewed, but after I cleaned her up her good feathers completely covered the picked on area, so I let her in with the rest, and no one went after her.
Stuff I did after doctoring the chicks.
I added one more box to the coop, a piece of plywood leaned against the wall that the chicks can hide behind as well as lots of lettuce and more popcorn. I also put in a piece of 4x4 for them to climb on.
I also took out the heater thinking that maybe a cooler coop would also reduce cannibalism.
The dog kennel does take up some of the floor space, but there still seems to be lots of space for the chicks, and I was thinking that maybe some of the leghorns (the only ones that could maybe fly that high) cold try to fly up to the top and that will give them one more thing to play with.
What do you'll think?
Could it have been that:
1. I got hatchery leghorns
2. Coop too hot (maybe in the high 60s or low 70s)
3. Way too much light (it is Alaska, so lots of light, but except for the red heat lamp I didn't give them any, just the sun)
With my very first flock, I had 25 all LF, in that same coop. And when they were about 8 weeks there was some feather picking since I hadn't let them out of the coop yet, but that was it, there was no cannibalism. Because of that, I just don't think that it is the coop size. But that time, I had no Leghorns. I had Easter Eggers, Light Brahmas, and I can't remember what else.
