Can anyone help me pleaseee😭.. still my 8 week old chicks are eating HUMAN HAIR!!!🤯

[Vanshi]

I had incubated my own hen's eggs 3 months ago and hatched 6 out of 8 of them. Now these chicks are 8 weeks old.. I leave them to roam everywhere since 6 weeks of age. Since temperature here will be always above 32 to 35 C.

From the first day I left them out to till now... everyday whenever they go out.. they tend to pick human hair in their mouth. They will try to swallow it ..but unfortunately most of the time it will get stuck around their tongue or beak. And everyday I have to pull the hair strands out or cut them off close to their beak!

I used to pull the hair out very slowly.. by luck I can take them out sometimes with saliva and lump of hair at the end. But mostly it gets stuck and I am not able to pull them out, it will be very painful for them if I try little hard. So I will cut the hair strand close to their mouth so it can't disturb them while eating.. is this wrong way? ..will it be forming big cluster inside and cause serious issues in future?

I have other 3 chicks which were from the same mom and dad. Only difference is.. they were hatched by the hen itself and brought up by her. So now even they are 15 days younger than incubator borne chicks.. these 3 chicks have never eaten hair... though all of them roam together. I will share pics of hair stuck in their mouth. Later if possible I will try to take a whole bunch from their mouth and show that too.. you can see how long hair they cluster up inside their crop

I have searched a lot of websites related to this and there is no single article indicating my problem. Can anyone help me with this please!

 

[sourland]

Why/how are they finding that much human hair? Is someone afflicted with alopecia?

 

[Vanshi]

Why/how are they finding that much human hair? Is someone afflicted with alopecia?

No.. there are 7 females here.. so it's common for few hair strings to fall per day even I we clean regularly. The problem is only the 6 chicks are picking the hair strands but not the other 3 chicks.. they just don't mind it.

I guess it is the hen teaches lesson that not to eat human hair to their chicks

But I am worried of the other 6 chicks

 

[Matejka]

Are they inside or outside?
Inside-CLEAN! Sweep or vaccuum hair up
Outside-quit brushing hair outside. Dispose of hair from hair brushes etc.. in trash-not outside.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Are they getting the hair from inside or outside?

 

[RubelliteRose]

My chicks liked to eat hair when they were little too. They did outgrow this as they got older. My daughter and I make sure our hair is up or braided around the chickens so they can't munch on the ends and hair doesn't fall out in the run.

 

[Vanshi]

Are they inside or outside?
Inside-CLEAN! Sweep or vaccuum hair up
Outside-quit brushing hair outside. Dispose of hair from hair brushes etc.. in trash-not outside.

They go in and out everywhere. Idk how.. though we keep clean.. they search for those unnoticeable hair that have escaped or got stuck in somewhere. There are not much hair strands as expected... but they pick it up from somewhere

 

[Vanshi]

Are they getting the hair from inside or outside?

My only doubt is.. why only these chicks are eating. Other 3 chicks doesn't even pick them.. I have never noticed any hair on them. But the ones born in incubator and raised by brooder are only eating hair!!! It's mysterious for me

 

[CluckerFamily]

My only doubt is.. why only these chicks are eating. Other 3 chicks doesn't even pick them.. I have never noticed any hair on them. But the ones born in incubator and raised by brooder are only eating hair!!! It's mysterious for me

Because momma is raising her chicks and teaching them what to eat.

 

[CluckerFamily]

At 8 weeks old, they are just fine to be in the coop/run.
Great idea about wearing your hair as a ponytail!
If they are in the house, you may have to clean more often.
The cleaning rule of thumb is you have to sweep and vacuum based on how many people and animals are in the house. Count how many people are in the house and how many animals (dogs, cats, etc.), add them together; this is how many times a week you should sweep/vacuum per week.