ALABAMA!!

[Wisher1000]

Just joined BYC. Got my first chickens in October.

Welcome to the best chicken site on the wwweb! Glad you're here, let us know if we can help!

 

[tmoore8595]

Hello Hardboiled 1, Welcome to the forum.

 

[bamachicks12]

My chicks are almost 2 weeks old . They are constantly scratching themselves. I know preening is normal but they are constantly doing it . Is this due to their feathers coming in ? they have wing feathers and some tail feathers starting to come in. I was worried about parasites but they came from a hatchery and have never been exposed to other poultry, and are still in there brooder .
So this would rule out lice or mites . The bedding I am using is pine shavings . Should i be concerned ? I have looked them over and dont see anything on them ( other than a little dust from the pine shavings )
Thanks

 

[tmoore8595]

My chicks are almost 2 weeks old . They are constantly scratching themselves. I know preening is normal but they are constantly doing it . Is this due to their feathers coming in ? they have wing feathers and some tail feathers starting to come in. I was worried about parasites but they came from a hatchery and have never been exposed to other poultry, and are still in there brooder .
So this would rule out lice or mites . The bedding I am using is pine shavings . Should i be concerned ? I have looked them over and dont see anything on them ( other than a little dust from the pine shavings )
Thanks

I use pine shavings and have not had this problem. Are you sure there are no cedar shavings mixed in with the pine? you might try a different bedding, (maybe pine straw or shreaded paper) and see if that helps.

 

[Wisher1000]

Yea, I was thinking that I would put them on plain, white, papertowels, to see if it stopped. It seems like I remember having batch doing the same thing but I think it stopped on it's own.

 

[Back2MyRoots]

Are they in your house or in the barn? I had some chicks that seemed overly itchy and the feed store guy (gotta love the feed store guy, right?) anyway, the feed store guy told me that the air in the house was too dry and that they needed some humidity to be able to soften their skin so the bigger feathers could push the downy fluff off. So I went and bought a humidifier and ran it a little while a couple of times a day. The itching stopped in a couple of days. It might have been coincidence. It might have been the humidity. *shrugz*

 

[bamachicks12]

I have them in a utility room inside our garage . I noticed today that they are getting feathers everywhere now so I'm hoping its related to that . .Also I think I'm going to try shredded paper or straw bedding instead of the pine . They are not doing it as much today, so hopefully it is resolving itself.. They are getting so big - except we have one that is a runt- cutest little thing , Has a good appetite and is healthy, just alot smaller . They are all supposed to be females , but we will see ! I'm hoping to add an Easter Egger this spring

 

[Stumpy]

Everybody pay attention to the weather tomorrow. It could get rough out there.

 

[jdywntr]

Thanks for the heads up Stumpy for anyone that hadn't seen the forecast.

I hope everyone here has a safe day.


Merry Christmas Everyone!!

 

[crissycriss]

How bad could it get?Havent watched the weather guess i am fixing too dont want to be taken by suprise.Thanks for the heads up.