Baby Chick Behavior/bare shoulder

[baysidechicks]

Hello! I got my baby chicks last night. I have 7 because a friend is going to take some - I originally planned on keeping 3 but now I think I want 4, they are all so cute and they have personalities too!

SO a couple of questions from this noob chick mom:

1. I've been keeping careful eyes on their butts to make sure no waste sticks there. It looks like one of them fell and got some pine shaving stuck there and one of the other chicks keeps pecking at it. I removed it from the one chick, but I wonder if I don't see it and the second chick keeps pecking, won't that injure the recipient chick? (I'm thinking this is a lot more dangerous than having a piece of toilet paper stuck to your shoe LOL)
2. Two of the chicks have slightly bare spots on one shoulder. They seem happy enough, they are all eating and drinking and doing their chick thing. Should we be worried about these bare spots? Just keep an eye on them?

I'm super excited for the chicks. It looks like we have a totally mixed group. I'm definitely keeping two of the Polish chickens - a whitish chick and what looks like it will be a golden laced, plus the one that looks like a buff - she's much bigger than the others and very calm and self possessed for a little chick! Now to pick out one of the others - they are smaller, black with various stripes/yellow spots/etc. They're active and and not as willing to interact with me (yet).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC!

Congratulations on your chicks
How are they doing?
Can you post some photos?

All I can say is clean the bums as needed. If shavings are sticking to the vent, then yes, clean it off. What's the temperature in your brooder?

As for the bare spots - hard to know without seeing them but some chicks are a bit more bare on their joints, they lose fluff quickly and will be feathering out soon. What are you using as your heat source - plate, heating pad, lamp, etc.?

 

[baysidechicks]

It was a bare joint - the next day the shoulder was covered but her hip was bare! I'm using a heat lamp. Didn't have one on them the first two nights - I live in Key Largo and it's been pretty hot for a human, but not hot enough for chicks apparently. Since I've put the heat lamp on the brooder they've been much happier. It's so funny to see them sleep, all sprawled out. I'll post some pics later. I'm keeping an eye on their little bums!

 

[baysidechicks]

So here are some photos of my four - they are hard to take pictures of with my phone! But the shutter sound seemed to fascinate the Polish one, especially the gold laced - at least, it's easy to figure out the Polish ones. Not so sure about the others - I thought the larger buff one was a golden buff or buff irpington but she has stripes on her back and I read elsewhere on the forum that means she's an ameracauna (which would be cool too). The dark one has a yellows spot on her head and her wing feathers are coming in white.

Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They are so cute!