Very dry flaky skin 4 week old chick

[bmwaterhouse]

I hatched chicks about 4/5 weeks ago and one of my Easter eggers has very dry, flaky skin. Some of the feathers are coming in kind of wavy, not sure if it’s from the skin being dry. Also her eyes do not seem as open or round as my other chicks, almost like she’s squinting. Her feet also have something weird going on. Her toes aren’t curled per se, but they do bend out to the sides when she walks instead of pointing straight forward. Any thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I hatched chicks about 4/5 weeks ago and one of my Easter eggers has very dry, flaky skin. Some of the feathers are coming in kind of wavy, not sure if it’s from the skin being dry. Also her eyes do not seem as open or round as my other chicks, almost like she’s squinting. Her feet also have something weird going on. Her toes aren’t curled per se, but they do bend out to the sides when she walks instead of pointing straight forward. Any thoughts?

Please get photos of the eyes and the feet/toes too (for feet/leg photos, preferably as she standing on her own).

Thank you.

What are you feeding?

Have you been applying any type of oil or ointment to her skin or feathers?

I've seen this on occasion in other threads, no one has come up with a concrete answer to what this may be. It could be similar to Cradle Cap. Giving her a wash up in dandruff shampoo may help. For some, it resolved the issue, while others still had problems.

 

[bmwaterhouse]

I’m feeding them chick starter and was putting electrolytes in their water the first couple of weeks. I haven’t put anything oil on her skin, no. Here are some more photos. You can see her toes kind of bend, not really curl under. Her eyes are oddly shaped, not round like the other chicks. And her feathers are growing in kind of scraggly maybe from the dry skin. I guess I will try giving her a bath with the dandruff shampoo. She eats, drinks, and plays as the others do. She does kind of get picked on she has a wound from an older chick (about 8 weeks old) that drew blood so I sprayed some chicken wound repair on that.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do her legs bend inward at the joint?

Can she hold her neck straight?

How well can she walk?

 

[bmwaterhouse]

She walks and runs normally, plays normally, holds her head straight, eats and drinks like the other chicks. It’s mostly the dry skin and the feet. The eyes might be normal but they just look more squinted to me than the others chicks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She walks and runs normally, plays normally, holds her head straight, eats and drinks like the other chicks. It’s mostly the dry skin and the feet. The eyes might be normal but they just look more squinted to me than the others chicks.

With her legs/feet a bit out of sorts and her skin issues, she may have a genetic or developmental issue, it's hard to know.

I'd try treating the skin issue, see if it will clear up. With the feet and eyes, there's not much you can do to correct them.

See that she's eating/drinking well and enjoy her.