3 day old chick- wing feathers hurting?

[MrsGray1211]

Hey y’all!
I have 7 3 day old chicks. Some are already getting wing feathers. One of the chicks is spending a lot of time preening one of her wings with the new feathers, almost like they are irritating her. I don’t see anything on her wing, it doesn’t appear irritated.
Has anyone experienced this before? Is this a regular occurrence when chicks get their wing feathers and I’ve never noticed??

 

[SourRoses]

It's normal for growing chicks to preen a lot. Among other things they are just learning to preen and what makes their feathers "feel right".
Sometimes they're at a stage where no amount of preening is going to make them feel like they're sitting right. Some chicks are more sensitive to that feeling than others. Like those of us humans who can't stand tags on the neck of our shirts.

Growing in pin feathers can also be a bit ouchy, but all chicks go through it and they can handle it. To minimize discomfort, they tend to avoid contact with those sore spots.
So prolonged preening is more likely to be about annoyance than pain. At least that's my take.

 

[MrsGray1211]

@SourRoses thank you!