Bleeding feather in 3 week old baby chick what to do?

[ridgerosefarm]

What are you using to supply heat to your chicks?

We started out with a heat lamp, but upgraded to the heating plate a week into it. They were keeping us up at night until we made the switch.

 

[ridgerosefarm]

I ask about the heat source because if it is a lamp, you can use a red bulb that will mask any red on your chicks.
Also i second the fact that if they are overcrouded or to hot a temperature it can worsen the pecking problem.
They should have pleanty of room and the brooder should be big enough that the food and water are at a cooler section of the enclosure. This will let the chicks self adjust to cooler temps and triger feather growth.

Thank you! I have 12 chicks, and I am thinking this evening I am going to have to find yet another size upgrade solution. The coop should be built by next week. They have been getting along SO well. Tonight I am definitely sensing the urgency. I do have the water on the other side of the brooder. I will try to get a picture of our set-up.

 

[ridgerosefarm]

A few hours at least. He will be noisy too i bet. This may not solve the problem though. But its worth a try. If he persists drawing blood from the other chicks then you may need to think of a more permanent solution.

He started out quiet, but is getting a little noisy now. She (he) was my fave in the beginning. But wow... started getting SO much bigger than the other chicks.

 

[ridgerosefarm]

If the feather is bleeding, it can be plucked out with a pair of pliers and the bleeding should stop. Blood feathers may keep bleeding until they are removed. Let us know how it goes after you remove it.

Okay thank you! I'm going to keep an eye on it. The bleeding quite from what I can tell. But I am glad to know that it can be removed without permanent damage to her.

 

[ridgerosefarm]

Just an update! The wing looked a lot better the next morning. But once I reintroduced the problem bird it wasnt long after and it started bleeding again. So several 2 hour breaks in chick jail, didnt seem to help the problem bird. If you had to guess would you say this easter egger was a rooster? She is soo much bigger than all the other chicks. Anyhow a friend of ours was willing to take her/him so there is once again peace amidst the flock. I hope it stays that way...

In the group picture he/she was the blur. I ended up cleaning up the orpington and reapplying a little gray nail polish to hide it. It seemed to do the trick. no more bleeding... the other chicks have left her alone. She is the far left lighter colored bird. I think she is going to be a splash and I can't wait to see what she looks like when she grows!

 

[Ebony Rose]

If the feather is bleeding, it can be plucked out with a pair of pliers and the bleeding should stop. Blood feathers may keep bleeding until they are removed. Let us know how it goes after you remove it.

Totally agree with Eggcessive. Pull the 'blood feather' as they are sometimes called. The sooner you pull that out, the sooner it will quit bleeding.

 

[ridgerosefarm]

Totally agree with Eggcessive. Pull the 'blood feather' as they are sometimes called. The sooner you pull that out, the sooner it will quit bleeding.

okay, if it hasnt bled for a couple of days should I still go ahead and pull it out?

 

[Ebony Rose]

okay, if it hasnt bled for a couple of days should I still go ahead and pull it out?

I would.
The feather that was injured is called a blood feather, also known as pin feathers. These are new feathers that are actively growing and have a blood supply flowing in the shaft. They can be seen in young birds (such as yours) and also in mature birds after molting or when they are replacing a wing or tail feather.
A broken blood feather can be an emergency because, as you noticed, blood easily flows out of it when broken. Birds don't have a lot of blood to begin with so left untreated, or if the feather should it become injured again, your bird could bleed out. The remainder of the feather shaft would need to either shed naturally so that a new feather can grow in that spot, or you can help it along (and reduce the chance of re-injury) by pulling the remainder of the broken feather out. A pinch of cornstarch and some light pressure should stop the bleeding rapidly after the shaft is removed.