Raw skin on bellies?

[bigchiefhoho]

My chicks are about a week old now, and I've noticed that some of them have red raw skin on their bellies where some of the fuzz is rubbed off. This has only happened to the cornish rock chicks - the easter eggers and production reds have no such problem. I don't think the problem is any hygiene issue in the brooder. I get rid of wet/dirty bedding multiple times per day. What's going on?

 

[Judy]

You might read a little in the meat birds section. I've never had Cornish rocks but I believe they feather unevenly because of their rapid growth..

 

[Erica]

Hi bigchiefhoho,

I've seen this with the hybrids too, and I think it's nothing to worry about. A recent batch I raised were like that (and had bare bottoms) until about 6 weeks of age.

There may be a genetic element but perhaps it's to do with the balance of amino acids in the feed?

These birds put a lot of protein into growth, and might have been bred to put less effort into feather buds or even down.

Eventually my bare bottomed birds feathered.

cheers
Erica

 

[bigchiefhoho]

Ahh, that's a relief, thank you. I was afraid that maybe the cornish pen at the store had some kind of horrible disease that they were going to pass on to my other birds or something. You know how your mind always goes to the worst possible scenario... I'll go to the meat bird section right now to read up on them a bit more.