Rooster Chick Feather Problems.....New at this, need help!

[arpacker]

We got our new little 'flock' last Tuesday, 12 hens and 1 Faverolles rooster. Everyone seemed fine, they seem to be doing well in their brooder. Most of the ladies are getting new feathers every day and the rooster is too. Although, he has a spot on the back part of his wing that looks 'bare'. I don't know if he got pecked by one of the hens last week or if he is only doing this to himself, but it doesn't seem to be getting better. I've tried wiping it down with some plain water to keep it clean, but that doesn't seem to be helping. Anyone know what could be going on with him? We are confused, but have already become quite attached to these little ones and I want to make sure he's ok or will be ok. Thanks in advance! Hope the pictures help too!

 

[sumi]

Sorry, I'm afraid I can't tell you what's going on with your chick. Try posting in the Emergencies and Diseases section for answers. Or hit the red flag in your post window and ask a moderator to move it over for you. Good luck!

 

[Melabella]

We got our new little 'flock' last Tuesday, 12 hens and 1 Faverolles rooster. Everyone seemed fine, they seem to be doing well in their brooder. Most of the ladies are getting new feathers every day and the rooster is too. Although, he has a spot on the back part of his wing that looks 'bare'. I don't know if he got pecked by one of the hens last week or if he is only doing this to himself, but it doesn't seem to be getting better. I've tried wiping it down with some plain water to keep it clean, but that doesn't seem to be helping. Anyone know what could be going on with him? We are confused, but have already become quite attached to these little ones and I want to make sure he's ok or will be ok. Thanks in advance! Hope the pictures help too!

Hi there, and Welcome to BYC! I have learned so much on this website, I am so very thankful for having found it. I am very new to the chicken world, and learning as I go along with my 10 hens that I ordered from a hatchery. I had this same exact issue, photo even looks the same that started with one of my columbian wyandotte chicks. Although I must say, they were 3 weeks old when my missing feather issue started. I was devastated, and as my husband pointed out, was pacing back and forth like Henny Penny when I went to the brooder pen and discovered her new little feathers were missing on BOTH wings, her pea comb area looked red and bothered, and her tail feathers that had beautifully started were gone! I immediately looked at the other 9 girls with contempt and set out to see if I could find the perpetrator! It was 3 days of spying, watching, looking, and heck if I ever saw anything that even remotely was lie bullying behavior. I had also done an incredible amount of reading up on raising these little ones, and was so worried that she was going to end up the outcast. I prepared a dog crate, and figured I would take her out, and braced myself for having to deal with my poor little girl! Guess what, turns out.... She was plucking her own feathers out. I inspected her to make sure there were no mites, or anything else. After many hours of watching, she is actually the one who runs around, randomly pecking at the other girls, she spends an incredible amount of time scratching and grooming herself. She picks out the feathers, (I swore there was no way she was doing it to herself as they were missing on her neck, and tail, but yep, she is one flexible little darlin), and after she picks them out, she eats them. Well, then I was worried she wasn't getting enough protein. I feed a great crumble, and they get a feeding of meal worms every day. I also started cooking up some eggs and feeding it to the group. I think I just figured out she is a bit nervous, and it's something she just does. I have found that it has dissipated, and feathers are growing back where she picked so many out.

I also think something that is very important is trying to help with boredom. My little flock very quickly outgrew the small little brooder pen I had purchased online, silly newbie me thought they would stay in there until I set them outside! I have them in a large exercise pen that i had bought for my daughters rabbits. It has thin slats so they can see out. I also took advice from a member on here to give them a nice big clump of dirt from outside with some huge dandelion leaves in it. You would have thought I put an amusement park in there for them to play on. When I don't have time to let them play in the grass, I do that twice a day. It also exposes them to microbes in the soil where they will one day be free ranging for a few hours. I also bought some white pullet seeds from a local feed store and sprinkle it all around their pen,( they are on a dirt floor in my barn). They spend a lot of hours looking around for those little seeds. Just some food for thought.

Good Luck, and keep us posted how your little one is doing. I will be interested to see if it works itself out, or gets worse.

Ciao,
MB