Chick losing feather on head

[Simpleman1]

Hi, One of my chicks is losing feather on its head.Currently it's in this condition.

Is this common?What's the reason for this?What can i do to prevent it?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi there.

Couple possibilities....

Nutrient deficit, parasite like mites or lice (some are microscopic), picking by other birds, or mini molt.

My bet is parasites from the way it looks... are they outdoors? What is the age? What do you feed?

Hope ya get some answers and that chick recovers quickly!

 

[Simpleman1]

Hi there.

Couple possibilities....

Nutrient deficit, parasite like mites or lice (some are microscopic), picking by other birds, or mini molt.

My bet is parasites from the way it looks... are they outdoors? What is the age? What do you feed?

Hope ya get some answers and that chick recovers quickly!

I let them out for about 1.5 hrs a day.It's actually around 3 months old( very small for its age )... I feed it grower crumbles and wheat bran.. I haven't vaccinated it.Can that be a reason?

 

[Alaskan]

I can't see the skin well enough to see how irritated it is, but usually (at least the external parasites that I am familiar produce different symptoms) feather loss like that would make me think that a flock mate is eating the feathers.

I would suggest sitting very quietly and still and just watching your flock and see if you can catch them eating the feathers.

Feather eating can happen during the day and sometimes feather eating happens after they settle for the night, and they eat their neighbors before going to sleep.

Usually feather eating happens if they are in cramped conditions and/or are on a low protein feed.

It can also happen if they have some parasites (external or internal) that make them itchy or uncomfortable.

 

[peeper89]

that cute chicken! him lose his down so he can get new pen feahters!
chicken need 20 give baby chick start feed nothin else!

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Have you seen if she is scratching a lot? I had a hen with depluming mites on her neck and face once that resulted in similar baldness, but it also made her very noticeably itchy. I treated with ivermectin and she made a full recovery. However I would recommend spending more time observing the chicks to see what might be going on with yours before starting treatment. As mentioned already, it could well be bullying by other chicks.
How many other chicks do you have and are they all OK? Can you try to check this chick's poop to see if it's normal?