The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[enggass]

On Wellies, when do they start to get their neck and head feathers? About what age?

 

[Hens and Roos]

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I think we started to see the change over around 4 weeks- one of ours looked like it was having a very bad feather week! It seemed to take a bit of time for them to competely come in.

 

[pinkchick]

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Steve~ They will start to feather in around the head and hackle later than the rest of the body like Hens stated, the head and hackle are the last on the bird to loose the chick down and feather in. I'm quite sure your little baby that looks like she is missing some down will be just fine. I've had chicks (not necessarily Wellies, but all breeds) sometimes have a small patch on them that was bare and didn't have chick down, they feather out fine. I thought it had something to do with incubation and too high of heat and low humidity but I am not sure. I have a little Blue Copper Marans right now that just hatched last night that has a bare patch on the top of her shoulder, it's very small like a pencil eraser.

 

[enggass]

I think my case is more about pecking... I had to remove her(with a friend) into their own brooder. The patch grew larger and I saw others picking at it. The skin is exposed and red. It now covers a good portion of the back of her neck.

I think she will be ok for now, but don't want to put her back in with the others until either the redness subsides, or she gets some feather growth in that area.

 

[pinkchick]

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Good thinking! Do you have any no pick lotion? I don't know if it's safe for chicks but maybe a good idea to research it and have it on hand for future use if it happens again. I have it and use it on my older birds if need, but not very often...I've had that bottle of no pick for almost 2 years and it's still 3/4 full so it goes a good distance.

 

[enggass]

Someone mentioned using Blu-Kote... It's used for abrasions and I guess it deters pecking as it tastes bad. The skin where it exposed is very raw/reddish. Can anyone tell me anything about this stuff?

 

[pinkchick]

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Blu-Kote will work great and it will help soothe the raw redness. Careful....she will have purple feathers for a very long time everywhere that the Blu-Kote touches. LOL...my Bill still has purple thigh feathers where I dropped the dobber on him last spring when I was treating his toe that one of my very mean Barred Rocks picked clean down to the bone, out of the blue she just went after his toe one day when I was cleaning the coop and drew blood....once she saw the blood she was like a shark and I spent the next hour trying to catch her and get her to stop. They were out free ranging and it was the hardest time I had ever had catching a bird and the longer it took me to catch her the more she could peck Bill's toe. She actually made a nickel size hole on his outer toe down to the bone. Took almost 2 months of solitary confinment and daily wraps and cleanings for his toe to heal, but he still has purple feathers.

 

[Happy Chooks]

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Oh how awful! I'm so sorry to hear that. Give Nate my best.

I have a son of Moose from my New Years hatch, if Nate wants him. I have no idea how much shipping will be, as I've never shipped live birds before.

 

[enggass]

Quote:
Blu-Kote will work great and it will help soothe the raw redness. Careful....she will have purple feathers for a very long time everywhere that the Blu-Kote touches. LOL...my Bill still has purple thigh feathers where I dropped the dobber on him last spring when I was treating his toe that one of my very mean Barred Rocks picked clean down to the bone, out of the blue she just went after his toe one day when I was cleaning the coop and drew blood....once she saw the blood she was like a shark and I spent the next hour trying to catch her and get her to stop. They were out free ranging and it was the hardest time I had ever had catching a bird and the longer it took me to catch her the more she could peck Bill's toe. She actually made a nickel size hole on his outer toe down to the bone. Took almost 2 months of solitary confinment and daily wraps and cleanings for his toe to heal, but he still has purple feathers.

Very good. My local feed store has both the spray and dauber. I will be getting the dauber - easier to control. I like the idea that it soothes, heals, tastes bad and hides the redness!
Thanks! I'll let you know how she does.
Steve

 

[EweSheep]

Thank you Happy Chooks, I am sure he would be pleased with you wanting to sell your rooster. He did talk about going for Whitmore Farm's Welsummers and see if he can get different breeds of chickens there. I hope he does get both Welsummers and Ameraucanas, those were so pretty with their egg colors!