Ages ago, I read that chickens will peck to death another chicken that is bleeding, which is why the horrible practice of de-beaking chickens became a thing in factory farms where chickens are kept in close confinement.
I would never debeak my chicks. It isn’t even suggested for people with fewer than 50 chickens, as long as they have lots of space to get around and away from each other.
Mine aren’t aggressive to each other, or to me. (I don’t have any roosters — at least, that I know of! Time will tell, as sexing chicks isn’t 100% accurate. And not all roOsters become aggressive. Some are sweethearts.)
But they do love the sight of blood!
This morning I went outside to sit with the chicks for a little while to see how they did overnight, since last night was slightly cooler than they’ve experienced before and the infrared heater didn’t keep them at 75 degrees overnight. They did fine.
I was wearing shorts for a change. (That was my first mistake!)
As soon as I sat down, Triller scurried over and jumped on my arm, ready for snuggles. The others gathered around my feet. (They can’t get enough of my white shoelaces. They think they’d like to eat them, but they just won’t come loose and go down!)
One of the yellow ones noticed a scab on my lower leg and pecked it off, causing a tiny dot of blood to appear.
You would think that chicken had announced, “SUPER SNACK!!!”
Instantly, nearly all the other chicks came running over. They all began pecking at the bloody spot.
In just seconds, I had a pretty good gusher going!
Laughing, I started to pick up chicks as fast as they came, lifting them up and onto my lap.But they were desperate to get back down. Not because I had picked them up, but because there was BLOOD DOWN BELOW and they wanted way more than their fair share!
Surprise: mealworms don’t hold a candle to fresh blood
When I fed them some live mealworms yesterday afternoon and this morning, they were excited and chatty.But when they got that taste of blood, hands down, their enthusiasm level took a quantum leap. Apparently, blood is their favorite taste!
Needless to say, I’m wearing jeans and pants from now on.
And God forbid I should ever pass out in the chick enclosure. I think I’d wake up with fewer body parts!
Chickens are feathered pirahnas.
