Looseing feathers

[Five Points John]

I have 2 out of 5 Barnevelder 4 week old chicks losing their feathers around their butt. Could they be molting? Also we lost 2 chicks from another breeder last week, And one barny to day, they were wobbling and sick acting. Would these things be related? We have been keeping all the breeds seperated in seperate bins. Any ideas what can we do to Help them? Also How soon can they be at 70F in house without a heat lamp? Thanks in advance John

 

[newfrom NJ]

If your chicks are potentially sick you cant be in a rush to reduce their heat. In theory at 4 weeks old they could be kept around 75/80 degrees. In regards to feather loss check carefully for mites or any other parasites and be sure they are not picking on eachother and pulling feathers causing the feather loss. Have your chicks been dewormed or vaccinated against any diseases? there are lots of different ailments that could explain why some chicks seem wobbly or unwell

 

[cva34]

Might be too hot and they do not feather out properly .70s should be fine at 4 weeks .I find that they need an area that's the proper temp for there age and surrounding area that is Lets say ambient 5 ,10, 15 deg cooler with feed and water that they can come and go as they please.If they get cool they run back to warm area .That's the way it is with Momma hen they take the chicks out and about,feed and drink and play.They stay close and if they get cool they run under Mom and warm up and off again .I see so many people try to raise them in an incubator type environment ( same temp everywhere) .Yes when there weeks old they cannot regulate there body temp internally as we do.We supply them with what they need and they regulate it by moving in and out of heated area to control there internal temp. This is my take and 2c worth on how it works ...cva34

 

[lsg1007]

I suspect a mite/louse problem. Check carefully around the vent area for critters. It doesn't seem right that you would just "happen" to lose that many chicks. There is something going on