- Apr 30, 2018
- 15
- 23
- 91
Hi all,
I am brand new to chickens, getting our first four day olds just under six weeks ago. Our Golden Sex Link (Fireball) has been slow to growing feathers around the sides of her neck and tail. I first assumed the feathers were slow to coming in (3 weeks ago) and then thought maybe she was being bullied (2 weeks ago) but... now I'm getting concerned that maybe it's something else. Relative to the other three, her mood, eating, curiosity, drinking all seem relatively the same, though she is the most submissive. Her body feathers are great. But her tail feathers around her vent and all the feathers around her neck seem broken or haven't come in at all. And she's now smaller than all the other birds while she was the biggest for the first few weeks. I looked and didn't see any mites - just lots of bare skin and broken or no feathers.
The birds are living in our basement bathtub as their coop and I let them run around the bathroom during the day. They have space and food and dirt to play in. Space and boredom don't seem to be an issue but I'm still wondering about bullying.
Am I a new mama that just needs to be patient or are there other things I can do to support her feather and body growth? All the chicks are so attached to each other that separating her seems like it would be more stressful.
I'm planning on giving her a diatomaceous earth bath later on today. Are there other foods that might be good to bulk her up? Or something else that I might be missing?
Thank you!
I am brand new to chickens, getting our first four day olds just under six weeks ago. Our Golden Sex Link (Fireball) has been slow to growing feathers around the sides of her neck and tail. I first assumed the feathers were slow to coming in (3 weeks ago) and then thought maybe she was being bullied (2 weeks ago) but... now I'm getting concerned that maybe it's something else. Relative to the other three, her mood, eating, curiosity, drinking all seem relatively the same, though she is the most submissive. Her body feathers are great. But her tail feathers around her vent and all the feathers around her neck seem broken or haven't come in at all. And she's now smaller than all the other birds while she was the biggest for the first few weeks. I looked and didn't see any mites - just lots of bare skin and broken or no feathers.
The birds are living in our basement bathtub as their coop and I let them run around the bathroom during the day. They have space and food and dirt to play in. Space and boredom don't seem to be an issue but I'm still wondering about bullying.
Am I a new mama that just needs to be patient or are there other things I can do to support her feather and body growth? All the chicks are so attached to each other that separating her seems like it would be more stressful.
I'm planning on giving her a diatomaceous earth bath later on today. Are there other foods that might be good to bulk her up? Or something else that I might be missing?
Thank you!
