So did I hatch a frizzle?

junebuggena

Crowing
Apr 17, 2015
23,102
8,304
491
Long Beach, WA
I'll start by saying, I do not, nor have I ever owned any frizzled birds. No frizzled bird has ever come into contact with my flock, ever.
I hatched some eggs from my Easter Egger hen and rooster.
The chicks are 2.5 weeks old, and I'm noticing that one chick looks a bit different. It was the tail feathers that got my attention. They curve out, back towards the body. Then I started looking closer. The shoulder feathers flare out. The wing feathers curve upwards and point up towards the back. The neck feathers also curve. Is this a random mutation causing frizzling? Or is it something else?












 
that is not frizzle. in frizzles, it is way obvious before that age and every single feather is curled.

it looks like simply 'mussed up feathers', causes unknown to me and probably will straighten out at next molt.
 
Last edited:
I had a hatchery EE chick with the same look. I was quite puzzled, but figured with hatchery birds, who knows, right? But she outgrew it and now is the classic EE looking pullet.
 
It's really odd. It's the only chick like this. Parents were hatchery stock, so who knows what random genes are going on. I know it's not nutritional. They have unlimited access to starter all day and night, and they have vitamins added to their water. The feathers just have a curve to them. It's really weird.
 
not so rare actually.

also known issue in a small percentage of ringneck pheasant chicks- people getting excited about new frizzled pheasants.. then they molt out normal.
 
Did you end up keeping this boy?
I'm curious as to how his feathers turned out.
 
He had mostly normal feathers by the time freezer camp day came at 14 weeks. A few were still a bit curly cued. Haven't had it pop up again. Thinking it might have been some sort of inability to process a nutrient normally.
He's the one on the left, 8 weeks old. You can see a few of his feathers sticking out at odd angles.
DSCN0188.JPG
DSCN0189.JPG
Here, he's the back left.
DSCN0186.JPG
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom