Feathers are coming in force. Are new feathers itchy enough to cause the li'l chicks to scratch/twist/hunker down in the bedding and dust themselves repeatedly in the DE/pine shavings? They look like dusty little crazy birds. Close inspections shows no sign of mites or the like, no skin irritation. Everything looks healthy.
yup. sure are. you try getting weird stuff bustin' through yer skin dude! you'd be rollin' in whatever you could find!
I've only brooded 2 sets of chicks but they all were itching when their feathers came in. They all stopped as soon as they feathered out. They seemed to scratch the most when they were coming in on their head, neck, and back. I wouldn't worry about it unless you see their skin turning red or mites on them. I think it's totally normal. I'd worry if mine weren't doing a lot of scratching at that stage!
Quote:uh huh. welcome to the 'oh my gosh, what the heck are we raising?' season of chicken rearing. they look like Muppets that mated ostriches.
