Missing feathers on chest?!

[veen]

Hello all,

I woke up this morning to clean out the chicks brooder area and I noticed they have a sort of dirty/sore area on there stomach/chest. On some it appears as though it has rubbed down to the flesh?! What has caused this? What do I do, this is the first time raising chicks myself!

Thanks!
Ramsey

 

[damselfish]

How old are they, & what kind of bedding are they on?

I can think of three possibilities:
1) they're shedding their down and getting feathers, leaving some bare spots (but this shouldn't really look sore)...
2) the bedding itself isn't clean or is made out of a material that irritates their skin...
3) you have some that are pecking the others...

That's what comes to mind, I'm sure others will come along with thoughts too.

Good luck, you may want to post pics too if you have them, seeing the affected area would help.

Edited to add: Welcome to BYC!