Sticky Downy Feathers

[fanov8]

Ok, so my babies hatched out yesterday and they were kinda sticky. Of course now that they have dried they are dry and "crunchy" on their backs. Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? I read that someone used a toothbrush to get it off. I tried that last night, but it didn't help very much. It did help a little, but not really enough. Could I use warm water with a little bit of baby shampoo? Or is it a no no to even get them wet? I'm so clueless about this one! And advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[fanov8]

Does anyone have any suggestions? I only have one that is really crusty. I really need to know what to do, even if that means to just leave him alone. I don't want to do something wrong and hurt them but I don't want him to be suffering either. Seems like it could be pulling on his skin.

Thanks again for any advice!

 

[flgardengirl]

Hi get a shallow bowl and put a few inches of warm water in it. Gather a towl and a soft toothbrush. Sit down at the table or on the floor. Hold the baby securely with one hand and put him in the bowl of water...keep his head out of the water. Dip the toothbrush in warm water and brush the sticky stuff out..keep dipping the brush in warm water and it should come out pretty easily. Towel dry your baby and put him back in the brooder under the heatlamp to dry the rest of the way.

Also they make these eyelash combs that work pretty good if you have one around somewhere...otherwise the toothbrush should work okay.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Do you know, if no one responds, you could ask the mods to move your thread to the incubating and hatching eggs section.

I typed out a response to you, only to delete it since I realized that I didn't even know if they were out of your incubator yet. (Because I don't know anything about incubating- but I do have an incubator in the mail!)

I have washed off pasty butt before on day old chicks shipped to me, and was amazed at how they shivered even though I was so careful to use warm water, dry them off quickly, and return them to the light. But I would give a chick a bath if I thought he needed it. Maybe I should have used a hair dryer, but I was worried about accidently burning them.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Here you go, this person nailed it for you. Good job flgardengirl! I'm going to remember this for me as well.

 

[fanov8]

Thank you, thank you, thank you both for answering so quickly!! As soon as I get my 2 kids into bed for the night (15 minutes) I will start working on him! Yes, they are out of the incubator. They are all doing well, but I was just so worried about it hurting him but still scared to do anything else in case it would do more damage! Thanks again for the help!

 

[DelawareSilkie]

Quote:
hello sorry to appear as a nosy parker, but if you use a hair dryer on a chicken, it shouldn't burn him at all, unless you use it really close (and by close I mean 4 inches away from the chooks face). One time in extreme cases, I had to use a hair dryer on my silkies when they were caught in the rain. As long as they were wrapped in a towel (or this case a chick with a washclothe) the hair dryer didn't cause them harm.

But to the original question, if you need more advice I guess the sticky film is the result of recently hatching. Some chicks get more of the "film" than others, so in your chick's case this film is just a slight incovenience.