Bare butts on my Cornish crosses

[Katybird80]

Silly title I know but that is exactly what I am seeing! I purchased 15 Cornish Crosses about 4 weeks ago and they were shipped to me through the USPS. All arrived in excellent condition and I did not lose any. That was great, however, the next day I noticed a few had “pasty butts” which I know is very common and not a major cause for concern. I used some warm water and a few damp paper towels and was able to clean them up. There was one that I had to clean the following day but other than that everyone was perfectly fine. All were eating and drinking with no problems. Now that they have almost completely feathered out I am noticing that several of them have bare butts. In other words, they do not have any or have very few feathers on their rear ends. There are more that have it than those that I had to clean up. Is this something to be concerned about? An illness? A disease? Everybody is still eating, drinking and pooping fine.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I know nothing about meat birds but aren't they meant to be like that?

 

[Katybird80]

I am not positive but I don’t think so.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

Any pics?? Most CX don't have a lot of feathers and the ones that they do can get plucked out easily if you have other non meat birds in with them.

 

[Katybird80]

I will post pics shortly.

 

[Pork Pie]

Poor feather cover in broilers is fairly normal, ime. As mentioned above, if there are no other birds other than meat birds, I would not worry too much.

 

[RUNuts]

nothing to be concerned with if they are acting normal, eating and pooping. Expect the bottoms, breasts (keel bone especially) and under the wings to be bare to varying degrees. The CX are bred for light feathers. Feathers cost feed, time and energy to make and they usually aren't needed.

Sounds normal.

 

[Ridgerunner]

And they grow so fast it's hard for the feathers to keep up. Photos would be nice to confirm it but I don't see any cause for concern.

 

[Katybird80]

I have moved them all to an outdoor run/tractor coop and literally within 1 day their feathers have started filling out. I think that the extra room and sunlight is helping. They were in a 7’ x 7&1/2’ “brooder” before. Thanks to everyone for the input. Must say that I really appreciate this website and the forums. This is my first go with the CX but I also have layers and ducks. This site has been a real help and an abundance of info for any and all questions I have had. So thanks again to everyone!

 

[cassie]

They grow so fast their feathers can't keep up. Sometimes they look pretty funny running around with all that pink skin showing.