Bare bellied! 1 week old chicks

[Menolly]

I have 1 week old Cornish Rock chicks. I picked them up today (moving them around) and noticed that most of them have chest/belly areas that are pretty bare of feathers. Have the feathers rubbed off? They do spend alot of time on their bellies, resting, is there a problem I should be aware of? They do get up and eat, drink, etc. They don't seem cold (they don't huddle under the lamp or all bunched together).

 

[reallemons1]

That's pretty normal for them. They lay on their bellies a lot, eat a lot, and grow SO fast.

 

[jaku]

My Cornish X's are 3 days old, and while the feathers haven't rubbed off much yet, from a lot of the pics I've seen, they will- especially if they sit in dirty litter. Mine are, however, pretty happy laying on their bellys all day.

 

[Menolly]

Thanks. I needed the reassurance!! I'm sure I change the litter often enough, so they aren't laying in poo and pee. They lay on their bellies alot and they are growing their new feathers. They already look better today!

 

[jaku]

Quote:
Yeah, when mine were on the paper in the beginning, I was changing it at least three times per day- now that they're on the woodchips, I'm trying to stir the litter up and freshen the water at least twice per day. I also found that after a few days in the brooder, they look a lot nicer- fluffy, heavy, etc. I know the poo load is going to continue to increase, but as of right now I haven't had ANY odor coming from my brooder, even though they completely cover the woodchips with poo every eight hours.