6 week old chick feathers pulled out

[FeatheredFamily6]

Hi!

I have one 6 week old chick that has tons of feather pulled out. She is in with 5 other 6 week old chicks and I have been monitoring their behavior to see if the other chicks are pulling out the feathers but they aren’t. I also haven't seen her pull out her own feathers or any feathers in the brooder area. I want to put the chicks in the coop next week but I am worried she will be too cold and if she is okay right now. All my other chicks don’t have any signs of this and not nearly as bad. Lastly she is the smallest one out of the 6 but she has been eating, drinking and playing normal.

Thank you!!

 

[FeatheredFamily6]

Hi!

I have one 6 week old chick that has tons of feather pulled out. She is in with 5 other 6 week old chicks and I have been monitoring their behavior to see if the other chicks are pulling out the feathers but they aren’t. I also haven't seen her pull out her own feathers or any feathers in the brooder area. I want to put the chicks in the coop next week but I am worried she will be too cold and if she is okay right now. All my other chicks don’t have any signs of this and not nearly as bad. Lastly she is the smallest one out of the 6 but she has been eating, drinking and playing normal.

Thank you!!

I ended up separating her in our spare brooder but she just keeps jumping up and hitting her head against the hard cloth wire we have at the top of the brooder. Does anyone know how to stop her from doing this? I don’t want her to hurt herself.

 

[Penpal]

Take a good look at her bald areas. Look for mites and lice, anything that doesn't belong there.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wouldn't separate her out if you don't see the others picking on her, it's just an additional stress. I agree that mites and lice would be the first thing to check for.

 

[FeatheredFamily6]

I wouldn't separate her out if you don't see the others picking on her, it's just an additional stress. I agree that mites and lice would be the first thing to check for.

I spent a lot of time with them today and noticed one of the other chicks is picking on her. Should I separate the chick that is picking on her?

Thank you!

 

[FeatheredFamily6]

Take a good look at her bald areas. Look for mites and lice, anything that doesn't belong there.

Okay thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I spent a lot of time with them today and noticed one of the other chicks is picking on her. Should I separate the chick that is picking on her?

Thank you!

Possibly... what's your current set up like? At 6 weeks unless you live in some unusually cold climate they really should be outside. Boredom/tight space constraints could be the main culprit as to why they're resorting to this behavior, so resolving that first can go a long way in fixing things.

 

[FeatheredFamily6]

They will go out next week at 7 weeks. The hatchery was pretty strict on they can’t go outside until 8 weeks but they are getting big fast. The brooder is getting tight for the 6 of them but I don’t see any others picking on each other.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Since you have another week to go I'd strongly recommend expanding the brooder and adding some stuff to keep them busy. It's harder to stop behavioral issues once they start and you don't want more birds take up picking.

 

[aart]

The hatchery was pretty strict on they can’t go outside until 8 weeks

Did they say why?
Many of us raise chicks in the coop at much younger ages.

Do you have other chickens?

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