California-Inland Empire

[SewCluck]

Thank you for your reply Jshubin.

Here is one of the buff orpington chicks my 3 yr old son has taken as his very own. He believes it will grow to be a rooster and has named him Dragon. Are you able to tell me if his dream will come true?

 

[JShubin]

Thank you for your reply Jshubin.



Here is one of the buff orpington chicks my 3 yr old son has taken as his very own. He believes it will grow to be a rooster and has named him Dragon. Are you able to tell me if his dream will come true?

Cool name... and nice looking chick, healthy and big.

Its hard to tell at that age. Once they get their adolescent feathers, the males will appear different than the rest (usually darker, facier, etc). Males tend to appear bigger and more lanky. But a lot of that depends on the breed.

 

[Three chickens]

Hello I live in Riverside. Cute chick!

 

[SewCluck]

Cool name... and nice looking chick, healthy and big.

Its hard to tell at that age. Once they get their adolescent feathers, the males will appear different than the rest (usually darker, facier, etc).  Males tend to appear bigger and more lanky. But a lot of that depends on the breed.

I see, thank you for your reponse. I'm going to wait a bit then take some up close and personal pics.

A lot of my chicks are getting this bare neck look...idk how to explain it. I didn't have my phone with me out there today so I don't have any pics. It appears as thougb they are losing their down feathers. At first I thought there was pecking going around so i observed them for awhile, but I didn't see any of it going on. Is this normal. The ones with the more noticeable neck skin are about 2-3 weeks old...I'm not sure since we got them from a feed store last week. We were told they were 1 week old.

 

[JShubin]

I see, thank you for your reponse. I'm going to wait a bit then take some up close and personal pics.

A lot of my chicks are getting this bare neck look...idk how to explain it. I didn't have my phone with me out there today so I don't have any pics. It appears as thougb they are losing their down feathers. At first I thought there was pecking going around so i observed them for awhile, but I didn't see any of it going on. Is this normal. The ones with the more noticeable neck skin are about 2-3 weeks old...I'm not sure since we got them from a feed store last week. We were told they were 1 week old.

Do they tuck the head into the bodies a lot? hiding there neck and closing their eyes?

If so they may be sick and/or have chicken mites/lice. Naked necks is usually a bad sign. Unless of course they are just growing out of their down feathers and getting adolescent feathers, but usually they come in on top of the down feather (at least with my breeds).

 

[SewCluck]

Do they tuck the head into the bodies a lot? hiding there neck and closing their eyes? 

If so they may be sick and/or have chicken mites/lice. Naked necks is usually a bad sign. Unless of course they are just growing out of their down feathers and getting adolescent feathers, but usually they come in on top of the down feather (at least with my breeds).

No tucking and closing of the eyes. I also checked for lice and mites and I didn't find any. I will check them again and observe them. My gut tells me they are losing down feathers. It's not really the whole neck area....it's closer to the wing, near the neck.

 

[froggiesheins]

No tucking and closing of the eyes. I also checked for lice and mites and I didn't find any. I will check them again and observe them. My gut tells me they are losing down feathers. It's not really the whole neck area....it's closer to the wing, near the neck.

To add, what are you feeding them? Chicks need a high protien diet. AND how much room do they have to live in, too small a space can cause this feather eating (IF that is what it is)

 

[JShubin]

Some breeds just loose feathers... I remember having RIR chicks that ate so much their crop was bulging huge and stretched the skin near the neck... that it appeared bald and might have caused their feathers to come out in that area.

 

[SewCluck]

Thank you all.
I feed them dumor 24% chick starter. They have it available 24/7. They are in a 6' by 3' run most of the day on grass/dirt and sun/shade.

I checked them all, no signs of lice or mites. Today I saw the new feathers coming out.

 

[JShubin]

Thank you all.
I feed them dumor 24% chick starter. They have it available 24/7. They are in a 6' by 3' run most of the day on grass/dirt and sun/shade.

I checked them all, no signs of lice or mites. Today I saw the new feathers coming out.

yay... good news... growing fast i guess.

I am used to slow growing gamefowl.