chick age question

[naturababe]

should my a bit over one week old chicks be getting tails feathers? i saw a picture of a 3 week old buff orpington and it looked less featherd then my supposedly one weekers?

also, do i need to trim their beaks already? there is translucent growth curving down over the bottom part of the beak. i read that i can file it with a nail file but i feel like if i do that i would have to hold the chicks head so tight i might pop it like a grape. a friend suggested some sort of calcium stone that you give to other pet birds (they peck at it and it wears the beak down) but i'm wary of the chicks getting too much calcium while pecking at the stone.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

some breeds mature faster then others so it's normal. as far as trimming the beak I wouldn't do it. just my 2 cents

 

[Higins00]

agreed, tail feathers are normal. I have never had to file a beak before

 

[Fergie]

In some breeds the hens get tail feathers first.....

 

[OmaBird]

The only beak I had to trim was one with a scull deformity. She had a cross beak.

 

[bigstack]

Why would you feel the need to trim the beak? some do it in problem birds.... personally I have never done it and feel if given enough room and feed there should not normaly be any need. As for the feathers almost all are different. I have had some hens get feathers ina week while some of the hens from the same hatch took 3-4 weeks. Roo's took a lil while longer.

Good Luck and God Bless!

 

[naturababe]

I read that you might need to trim the beaks and the picture in the book (storey's guide) kind of looks like the way the chicks beaks are - the top overhanging the bottom.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Sorry, but I think that's the way chickens' beaks are normally. I've never heard of anyone trimming chicks' beaks, either.