Help! 3wk old chicks ...

[niellyc]

Hey everyone!

So I'm totally a newbie in the chicken world. My boyfriend found some Easter egger chicks on craigslist from someone in our area. They're about 3 wks old and they're scratchig at their head, shaking, and missing feathers. Almost all 10 chicks are missing some feathers (mostly on the top wing area) one in particular is pretty much bald on it's back/under wing area down to the tail. My boyfriend says the place he got them from had hundreds of chickens/chicks all packed into a small area and says the man he purchased them from says the loss of fathers is due to all the chicks stepping on eachother. The skin looks normal? Not red or scabby. If anything it's tinted yellow but no obvious bugs. Just wondering what this looks like and if I should treat for mites/lice/other parasites. We plan on just using these chicks for eggs.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Welcome to BYC!

Chicks do scratch a lot. They'll shed the baby feathers so you'll see a lot of white flecks. It's just the feather shaft being shed. I'm thinking the conditions they were in are whats causing the feather loss though I don't think it's simply from being stepped on.

I would dust them a teeny bit with some DE. I'm not a huge advocate for DE, but I think they're too young to do a harsher dusting. You can even use wood ash just to make sure if there's something slight there that you get it. Mites are very, very teeny and a pain to get rid of.

If there are no bugs I would think they'll refeather out pretty soon since they are still so young. Good luck on your new adventure!