Ruffled feathers?

ErinLeah

Chirping
Apr 13, 2020
48
46
66
Hello- new chicken lady here and I was wondering if chicks have somewhat ruffled feathers but are perky, eating and drinking well- should I be concerned? One chick has runny poop that smells bad, but the other chicks poop seem fine. No blood, poop all dark in color. Chicken shop (feed supply) says maybe the dominant chick is eating and drinking too much causing runny stool. Thoughts!?
 
Can you post some pictures of your chicks?

Poops can get looser and smelly based on diet in my experiences. I generally don't worry unless the chicks look off, or you see blood.
 
Yes!
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They look mostly normal. If that's their brooder they may be rubbing their feathers against the side a lot. They are ready for something bigger.

Chicks molt out several times as they grow, so the feathers they have now are mostly temporary. Make sure you are feeding a good fresh starter so they have what they need to produce feathers and grow.
 
Thanks! This is what they stay in at night- we are in northern Colorado so it gets cold at night. Lately, it has been beautiful during the day, the 60s to low 70s, so I've been taking them out to their little coop. I gave them fresh food one to two times a day- is that enough?
 
Chicks should always have access to a good fresh chick starter. Extras should be limited until chicks are older than 8-12 weeks to avoid deficiencies.

What are you feeding?

That's good to hear they are going outside during the day. It helps with the acclamation process, and makes the final transition less scary.
 
I'm feeding chick starter feed from a feed supply- it's organic, the feed supply makes it themselves, and it has nutrients to last up until 16 weeks. Yesterday it snowed (after a week of 60s-70s) so they stayed inside and I left the wire lid off the small coop- they fly in and out alot and perch on the sides- maybe that also makes ruffled feathers?
 
Feed sounds good. They don't really look too bad. Sounds like you are taking great care of them. Eventually their adult feathers will come in and they will look less ruffled.
 
Since it has been cold for a few days and we have a forecast of 8 inches of snow in the next week I decided to bring the little coop back inside. The ladies (and possibly one gentleman) are very happy. Thanks for the tip on the feathers possibly being ruffled because of the size of the bin they were in. They've got bedding up in the coop and yes, that's a door that the coop is on! I love how resourceful you can be with chickens :)
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