I am raising a few rescued chicks from a breeder down the road. 2 of them are albino and were pecked very badly while in the nest when they were around 1 1/2 to 2 weeks old (1 had pin feathers but the other didn't)

 

When I picked them up you couldn't see their heads for the blood and I gave them little chance of surviving.

I bathed them daily with saline and managed to stop the bleeding, they scabbed up well and now the scabs have fallen off and surprisingly, I cant see any actual disfigurement in the shape of their heads.

 

They are both now fully feathered (except their bald heads) but not flying yet... they are rolling seeds in their beaks, haven't seen any hulls yet though but they like the boiled egg and grated carrot and spinach so they should be eating on their own soon. (I still feed them myself 3 times a day as they are so demanding)

I've been hoping to see pin feathers reappear on their heads but so far they just have pink skin... I raised a lorikeet who was badly pecked and all his feathers grew back, so I was wondering, am I just being impatient or will they be little vulture cross budgies for the rest of their lives.

 

I'll try to take some pictures soon. Thanks

pictures would really be wonderful

 

if the the follicles are damaged to severly though they may not grow back and be bald. You said they are not flying yet though...how old are they because they also may have a feather disorder too.

 

If you post a picture our more experience members in this field will be able to help you out.

Edited July 18, 200717 yr by Elly

If the damage was too extensive they may never grow back their normal feathers. Usually after the skin has repaired, pin feathers will appear in two to three weeks.

I've been hoping to see pin feathers reappear on their heads but so far they just have pink skin...

 

If it's smooth scar tissue, quite possible depending on how big the scabs were, then feathers may never grow back as the skin with the feather follicle may have been replaced by the scar tissue. I've had baldies from rescued chicks, one hen that was a real "Friar Tuck" all her life.

 

Cheers,

KathyW.

okay, here are some pics, they look much dirtier in the photos than they are really, but you can see where to damage is...

 

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z319/ch...brandy/bald.jpg

 

 

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z319/ch...randy/bald2.jpg

 

I think they are nearly 4 weeks old, they have started flapping but not taking off yet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images changed to links due to size. All posted images should be no larger than 450x450 pixels. :ausb: - Bea

Edited July 18, 200717 yr by Bea

I might be seeing things but I think I can see a couple of pin feathers near the edges of the bald spot.

I checked and there is definitely no pin feathers yet, but since the scabs only fell off last weekend, I am probably just being impatient.

 

Just a quick question about how to resize the pics, when I uploaded them they were the right size, but when I linked them from photobucket they were too big. How do I check what size they are going to be before I link them from photobucket. Thanks

When you have them open in a preview on your computer right click on the pictures and click on properties. this will give a small box with info about the picture with hight and width.

Re photos. On photobuckets edit feature just select the size email/website and it will be correct for this forum regardless of how it looks in preview. Cheers Kaz