Dry and flaky skin on baby chicks

[mnmoliv2]

Hi everyone! I am a new chicken owner and I recently got 4 chickens. Two are both 2 weeks old, one is 3 weeks old, and the other one is almost 4 weeks old. All of the chickens have been sneezing (sometimes bits of snot, other times not) and shaking off dry skin. I don’t know if this is normal and I checked all of them for lice, but there seems to be no signs. I will try to upload pictures if you need them but they all look/act like normal healthy chicks.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Waiting on the uploads.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi everyone! I am a new chicken owner and I recently got 4 chickens. Two are both 2 weeks old, one is 3 weeks old, and the other one is almost 4 weeks old. All of the chickens have been sneezing (sometimes bits of snot, other times not) and shaking off dry skin. I don’t know if this is normal and I checked all of them for lice, but there seems to be no signs. I will try to upload pictures if you need them but they all look/act like normal healthy chicks.

Hi @mnmoliv2 Welcome To BYC

Photos are always helpful (chicks in natural lighting is always best, include photos of the face, skin concerns, snot, brooder/housing, etc.)

 

[mnmoliv2]

Here are some photos. Sorry they aren’t very well.
About their brooder:
Has a 250 Watt red light that I usually turn off and on now and then. They are kept inside in my living room which is usually around 70 degrees fahrenheit. They are pretty comfortable around it. They’ll either be sleeping spread out under it, on the branches, or around it.
They are all on medicated feed. They also love to eat plants so I will hang little planted chicken safe plants that they will destroy. I put cat nip, daisies, and Pansies.
I couldn’t get any photos of their snot because they have mostly been sneezing up dust/nothing at all. They usually sneeze when I put them outside which is a few times a week, depends on the weather. I live in California so it’s usually mild weather.
I have an Americauna, Golden Sex Link, and two Silkies. The Americauna and Golden Sex Link will fluff up their feathers when they lie down and little pieces of dry skin will fly up.
They have paper towels and dried wood chips in their brooder.
I don’t know if any of this is normal. They all act normal; lots of energy, eating, drinking, quiet tweeting.
I don’t know if this is normal so I just wanted to make sure. Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What a bunch of cuties

The dry flaky "skin" or shedding is from the new feather grow, it's the keratin sheath that surrounds feathers. This will fall off as the feathers grow. You will see your babies preening themselves. They would probably love a place to take a dust bath as well - either a bare spot in the yard where they can dig a hole or give them a tub of dirt/sand mix. This not only helps get those sheaths off, but it's a way they keep their feathers clean and also helps control external parasites.

As for the sneezing, unless it becomes frequent and consistent (2-3times a minute) then I would just wait and see. Chickens do occasionally sneeze to clear their nares (nostrils) of dust/dirt and feed. Since they are also feathering in, they may be getting a few bits of that keratin up their nose too.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x Wyorp Rock

 

[TomZilla43]

Hello Mnmoliv2 , hope your babies do well and thrive. Glad you joined us

 

[mnmoliv2]

Thank you so much for the information! I really appreciate it. I’ve grown up owning reptiles so owning birds is a little new to me, especially having a little terrier dog that likes to attack wild ones outside (she’s seems to ignore the chickens though which is good). The last reptile I owned was a chameleon who was very healthy ( or so I thought). We took her to the vet constantly and then she died randomly at only 3 and half years old, so I’ve just been trying to give extra precaution for these chicks. Again, thank you!

 

[Annie19124]

I am using a 150 watt dark colored bulb because Im thinking the more heat causes the dry skin. Its probably normal for them to shed the dry flakes. You can spread some DE food grade in their bedding to kill any mites you cant see.