[hulgrin]

My chicks are only coming up to 6 weeks old but I think I my have a bully I've noticed that the blue belle has started pecking at the face of the blackrock. At first I thought it was just them sorting out the pecking order as there were only the two of them at their new home. Shouldnt it have stopped tho a week and a half later ? There are only the 2 of them and i dont want to have to split them up as that defeats the object of having the 2 of them  Should I let it go another week or so and see if it all settles down ? I've noticed also that the blackrock has a white powder at the base of her feathers and doesnt seem as healthy looking as the blue bell. I wasnt sure if this was just a characturistic of the young breed or could it be stress now that i've noticed the pecking ?

[joyfull]

the pecking order can take several weeks to sort it self out, I would just stay around with purple spray should it be needed, make sure they have a couple of feeders and drinkers so that the blackrock can eat and drink and also make sure that there are plenty of places for her to hide. Are they still under a heat lamp? If they are in a brooder perhaps there isn't enough stimulating things for them to do.

[hulgrin]

Thanks for the reply Joyfull  They are still in the brooder at the moment and I'm not going to fork out for another feeder, heatlamp for the sake of another week or 2. They are about 6 weeks at the mo and the weather has turned quite mild around these parts so I'm tempted to start to try and ween them off the lamp. I've only noticed the pecking after a placed an old stick in the brooder with a sticky out branch on it. I thought they could practice roosting on it    ! Perhaps they are fighting over it cos it's only really big enough for one at a time ? What about the powder at the wing bases ? It doesnt look like lice or anything, more like dandruff They have sawdust on the floor so I dont know if it's from that ? The bluebell has a softer looking feather than the blackrock,( more poofy looking  ) but I put it down to them still being so young and different breeds. Whats this " purple spray " ?

[joyfull]

purple spray (available from horsey places) is an antiseptic and also diguises any blood (chickens go mad for blood  ), Be very carefull though what you use on them whilst they are so young. yes put another perch in with them or at least a bigger one so they can both get on it together. The powder could be from them getting their proper feathers.
I have never used a brooder and heatlamp (I use broody hens) but at 6 weeks I would start to switch of the heat lamp for part of the day but it is still cold at night.

[dizzylizzie]

Hi, in my opinion one will pick on the other as you only have 2. Chickens have a pecking order, there will always be someone at the top, and you only have 2, the one not at the 'top' will get picked on. They may sort it out and live quite happily as a couple, lots of people keep 2 together without problems. As regards not splashing out on more feeders. well thats just silly as they dont cost much and they are gonna need feeders when they come out the brooder. The stick you have in there...if you know they are fighting over it, put a bigger one in, im sure you can find something for free down your local park that will fit the bill. Purple spray is a coloured disinfectant. Chickens are attracted to the colour red so will be drawn to an injury making it worse, the purple spray acts as a disinfectant and disguises the colour
I also agree with Joy,the feathers have little waxy shafts on them that break off looking like dandruff

[hulgrin]

Hi Dizzy  I'm glad to hear that my chook hasn't got some sort of feather fungus  :happy: If it was just a feeder/drinker then obviously I would have gone and bought another one for them,( I'm going to buy another drinker for them anyway cos I have the screw on plastic bottle type which imho is a pile of chick poo ), but the heat lamp was nearly £50 and as Joyfull said it's coming to the time where I should start switching it off. As I'm less paranoid now that they arent going to suddenly keel over if I lift the cardboard cover off the top for too long, I sat and watched them for 20mins or so yesterday and the bullying seems to be easing. I cant get over how much they have grown in 2 weeks !! They must have doubled in size  I have a post on here with pics of when I bought them so I'll add some new picks to that to see if it's just my imagination or if I have actually bought ostriches by mistake  Sorry for the constant question guy's but this time next year perhaps I'll be able to pass on to others what I have learned 

[dizzylizzie]

They do grow very quickly.....
Ive had a quick look through your posts and i cant find anywhere where anyone had suggested buying a new heat lamp?....anyway, as joy says, they should be coming off heat soon enough. Please dont worry about asking questions...we all have to start somewhere, and i know ive still get so much to learn. Thats the good thing about here , there is so much knowladge available, someone will always help. Have a really good look around the site. There are poultry 'stickies' which are permament posts with lots and lots of info, plus you can type a question into the search engine and have a look at other peoples similar posts before asking a question, you may find you dont need to ask as its already been covered

[hulgrin]

The new lamp wasnt suggested Liz but if I was going to have to separate them then I would have had to buy another lamp for the "new" brooder