itchy chicks?

[ninabird]

My chicks seem to be scratching more than they need to... Does anyone know why this could be? I was thinking that maybe some mites found their way into the bedding. Would buying diatomaceous earth be unwise to use?

Also, where exactly would you find the umbilical cord attatched on a chick? Because I don't know, and I can't tell if this sort of growth thing under the picky vent is an umbilical cord or... a growth.

 

[Mahonri]

Chicks do a lot of scratching... it's those feathers coming in.

A pic would help us to see what's happening beneath the vent.

How old are the chicks?

 

[ninabird]

I was thinking originally that it was probably just feathers coming in, but I've been bringing them some dried grasses for them to be busy in and thought it might bring in some mites or something of that sort.

Right now the chicks are almost a week old. I would try to take a picture of the questionable growth but the chick is extremely furry and it's almost impossible to get a good view of it. Mostly it just looks like a sort of short stub, not string thin, and it's kind of hardened. There's a thicker part on the end and I was thinking that this might be the shriveled yolk sac or something. Sorry that I can't get any pictures!