[rkclive]

Hi, does anybody have any advice about what age chicks have to be before you can powder them (and their mums) against lice and mites and also worm them? One of my chicks who is now 25 days old looks a bit bare in spots and hasn't yet grown any back feathers, she is still all fluff apart from the wing feathers.  The other chick of the same age has a full set of back feathers.  I wondered if it might be mites affecting her?  Don't want to take her and Mum to the vet if there is a simple answer that I can do myself, as it will stress them out.
Thanks
Rachel

[Helenaj]

You can powder both Mum and chicks now, but Frontline is far more effective and less messy. If you can get hold of the puppy or kitten spray type, give mum two short blasts between the "shoulderblades" and that should do the trick. With the chicks, you can't spray them as the dosage would be too high. What I do is spray some Frontline into the cap that comes with the bottle, get a cotton bud and dab some of the solution between the "shoulderblades" of the chick. Discard any spray left in the cap.

 The one with less feathers will probably be a cockerel as they feather much more slowly than a girl. You can usually see bare flesh on the wing joints (elbows to you and me) and fluff between the shoulderblades. The girls feather up much more evenly.
I would say that they are a little young to worm yet - can you seperate mum once a day, just to get some wormer down her?