Day-old Chick thinning feathers on her own wings with beak

[Chickiee]

Have a day-old chick that has both wings with thinning feathers on them. She looks like she takes a wing feather in her mouth and runs her beak from the feather's base to the tip. In doing this, she is stripping the fluff off all her wing feathers (both her left and right wings). We got her from TSC today along with another chick and 2 ducks that are not exhibiting this behavior. I am using Save-A-Chick in their water in case this was stress related. Any suggestions?

 

[leesbunny]

Although I have only had chicks for a few months, I am sure this is normal. Every one of mine did that. I also read that while doing that, they are distributing oil along their feathers.

 

[CMV]

The wing feathers are the first to be replaced with more adult-like plumage. The fluff pulls out very easily when it is ready to be replaced. You can check her over for bugs if you are concerned, but I think you will find it to be perfectly normal.

Good luck.

 

[Chickiee]

I did check her for bugs last night... nothing. She's not doing as much of this behavior today, but her wings look pretty sparse. It's a relief to know that others have seen this. I didn't realize that the adult feathers started so young, but I guess it makes sense. They can't be cute little fluff balls forever.