6 day old chick is pulling out her feathers

[purplerobinschickens]

Hi! I'm a newbie here & could use some help. We got 5 chicks on Wed & one of them is pulling out her own feathers. Started at her rear end & is working her way forward. Her poop looks milky. Would appreciate any input. Have already had to nurse one chick along with pedialyte ... The place I ordered them from has been a help, suggested vaseline but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. Now they're closed till Monday. Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[gritsar]

How old are these chicks? Have you checked for parasites - mites or lice?

 

[purplerobinschickens]

when i posted, she was 6 days old (almost). she's a week old today. seems to be doing better. the place i got her from said it could be itchiness from new feathers growing in. we haven't had any power since 2am Sunday, this is my first chance to check back here. and, nope, not parasites; did check for that.

my other worrisome chick, tho, who was doing better being fed pedialyte, now seems to be worse after our power-out. we kept them all warm by using the winter-hand-warmers under pine bedding w/a small box turned over them so they could get to water/food. and checked them very regularly. do chicks catch cold? if so, what do i do about it; how to treat it?

here's my (& my husband's chick story) ... been thinking about chickens for a couple of years. had more then usual number of ticks in yard this year, wanted real eggs & good fertilizer. so, we built an ark, ordered 5 chicks. (1 = speckled sussex, easter egger, welsummer, red star, silver laced wyandotte) the silver laced got replaced with a blue laced. they arrived wednesday (8/24) & by thursday nite we were having trouble with the blue laced (lethargic, not eating/drinking much/sleeping mostly). by friday, the easter egger was pulling her feathers. that's our story (to date). the other three seem to be doing fine.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You see her physically pulling her own feathers out? That's odd. Sometimes they don't have enough space or one chick is super docile and gets pecked by others resulting in feather loss.

Now you have power ensure with lighting you have a 95 F area in brooder and plenty space for them to move out of light if they are hot. Lethargy in chicks is about what they do, then peep and eat, sleep, peep and eat.

 

[teach1rusl]

Mine are a week old today. The incoming feathers do bother them a lot, because mine will peep (like someone is pinching them) and then go after an area of the body (they seem to bother them most in the tail area, and some parts of the wing), but I've never seen them actually pull them out - they typically dig around in that area and then go on to something else. I figure it's a lot like teething in babies - hurts and is annoying.
If there are actually feathers being pulled out intentionally, then I always think stress of some kind...temps., crowding, etc.

 

[purplerobinschickens]

yup, she was doing it to herself. the phone rep at the chick place i purchased from said sometimes chicks can develop a nervous habit when new feathers are growing in? and how would I kno ... i'm new at this ... lol.

heat lamp was the first this which got checked this morn when the power came back. i sure hope my little blue-laced makes it. thanks for your answer. i feel so frustrated right now and i'm not used to that. i kno just a little about chickens but that's from my grandparents poultry farm. alot different then what i'm doing. and feeling helpless; not knowing what to do. that's hard, too!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I would agree with the stress factor. New feathers are itchy and I know even my adult birds would rather not be bothered when they are growing in new feathers after a molt. To answer your other question - chickens do not catch a cold in the way that humans do. They can be susceptible to upper respiratory issues and being chilled can contribute to that, but they don't catch what we humans consider to be a cold.

Good luck with your puny one. You might try offering some mashed, hard boiled egg yolk. Go very lightly on the pedialyte or switch to some sugar water, but again go light on the sugar part.

 

[purplerobinschickens]

Well, the feather-picker seems better ... but we lost the little one. I guess being weaker to begin with, then having no power; she just didn't make it. I tried really hard, tho. Kept them all nice & warm, checking to make sure they were all eating, drinking, pooping. She died in my hands ... at least she was well loved and gave love back during her short time. We had a nice little funeral for her. Now we only have four chicks. I think the one we lost was a blue laced red wyandotte.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Sorry for your loss. Sometimes the little ones just aren't strong enough to make it.