Many health problems in baby chicks are caused by unsanitary living conditions.
Once strictly regarded as farm stock, chickens increasingly are raised as pets, from new hatchling to adulthood. Healthy baby chicks require clean water, living quarters that are dry and comfortably warm, and proper food. As is the case with any animal breed, the babies are more vulnerable than adults to some conditions, many of them preventable or treatable.
Mature Feathers
Some unsuspecting chicken owners might be alarmed when, somewhere between three and six weeks of age, a chick's soft down begins to appear mangy or diseased. Although unsightly, the process is natural, just part of the bird's natural development, as mature feathers gradually replace the chick's down. The chick's comb and wattle grow and turn red at about the same time.
Pasting Up
Droppings of loose stool can cake up -- or "paste up" -- around the chick's vent, preventing the bird from passing any more waste. This can be deadly to the chick and should not be ignored. To loosen the blockage, try softening the soiled area with a damp paper towel or even dunking the area in warm water. Chickens tend to outgrow this tendency, but while the bird is young, a careful owner would re-inspect the area regularly and treat any problems.
Disease
Symptoms of illness in chickens include coughing or labored breathing, weight loss, warts, scabs, lesions, paralysis, loss of feathers or appetite, diarrhea, retarded growth and other problems. Chicks should be vaccinated against Marek's disease, fowl pox, Newcastle disease and bronchitis. Young chicks in particular are susceptible to coccidiosis, a bacterial disease attacking the intestinal tract. It usually presents itself as bloody or blackened stool. To prevent the problem, keep living quarters well-ventilated and dry, and provide only clean food and water. Drugs combating coccidiosis are available from feed dealers and should be employed immediately. Baby chicks can also succumb to omphalitis -- also known as Mushy Chicken disease or navel infection -- where the chicks huddle, appear listless and often die. Unsanitary living conditions cause this illness; treatment requires antibiotics. Chicks around four weeks old without the proper amount of vitamins A and D can also contract rickets and become crippled.
Cannibalism
No, the chicks don't literally eat each other; they pick at each other. This is usually a sign of a stress caused by problems like overcrowding, overheating or restricted food or water. It can begin with simple toe picking when the chicks are young, then grow into a much larger problem, spreading throughout a flock. To prevent cannibalistic behavior or halt it immediately, chicks can be debeaked -- have the pointy tips of their beaks removed -- when they're as young as one day of age. Also, any underlying causes of aggression should be identified and handled, usually by improving living conditions and quarters.
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