Chick with no feathers?

[TJAnonymous]

OK, this is a new one for me. Would love to know if anyone has run across this before...

This chick is over a month old. As you can see, he/she is still nothing but fuzz. Also has some bald spots. Momma hen has pretty much abandoned him. I often found him out wandering alone when I would let chickens out to free range. We have several hawks in the area so it's only a matter of time before something gets him. I brought him inside to an indoor brooder. He feels really HOT so I think he's feverish. A little bit of labored breathing too but I'm not sure if that's just because he's stressed from being separated from the flock and alone. His crop was jammed full when I brought him indoors yesterday afternoon. This morning it was empty so I know he's passing food although he wasn't the slightest bit interested in mealworms this morning.

I do know some of the other hens would peck at him if/when he got in the way but no overt bullying that I've witnessed. Still, I've never seen a chick just not grow feathers? He has grown bigger bodywise but still smaller than others his age. The others are also fully feathered. I'm not sure on his breed but I'm guessing he's a Black Australorp - Ameracauna Mix.

 

[Mosey2003]

My first guess would be that he wasn't getting good nutrition if he was being bullied all the time. I'd try to get him on a really good starter and see how he looks in a couple weeks.

 

[-Chanticleer-]

Protein will get those feathers growing.

 

[TJAnonymous]

In the brooder, he's on a Flock Raiser crumble. I was giving him FR crumble in the chicken yard every morning but often the other hens would start to crowd him out to eat it up so his momma would move him to another area of the run. That means he was mostly eating adult layer pellets, oats, millet, and BOSS.

I just find it so odd that he hasn't grown ANY feathers. I don't remember the exact date he was born but I'm thinking early June which would put him closer to 2 months old almost.

 

[TJAnonymous]

It's been almost a week since I brought the chick indoors. Feeding him Flock Raiser crumbles plus mealworms. Still no feathers growing and now he's beginning to really lose fuzz and developing obvious bald spots. He IS growing though because now he's bigger than my hand.



@azygous
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you moisten the flock raiser in a small bowl in addition to the dry crumbles? A little scrambled egg and perhaps a chick vitamin might help make a little difference.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Can you moisten the flock raiser in a small bowl in addition to the dry crumbles? A little scrambled egg and perhaps a chick vitamin might help make a little difference.

Do you mean to give him Flock Raiser mash in addition to the dry crumble?

I have been putting Nutri-Drench in the water in case it was some nutrient deficiency.

I can try to give him some scrambled eggs. He does eat the mealworms but only sometimes. Also I've checked his crop several times over the past week. The day I brought him inside, it was so jam packed with food (layer pellets, scratch, etc) that it was super hard and stretched to the limit. The next morning I checked it again. It was empty. Since then I've checked it in the evening several times. I can feel food (FR crumbles) but it doesn't feel packed full like before. It's always a bit squishy still. Wondering if this could be a clue?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd try giving him the wet mash and vitamins, see how that goes. He may be having difficulty for some reason managing the crumbles.

Sometimes, it's hard to know what's causing issues like this, if it's nutrition or genetics or ??

Time will tell how this plays out. It sounds like he's gaining weight which is a positive direction.

 

[azygous]

Do you see tiny pin feathers emerging in his bald areas? If so, he may be one of many chicks that grow faster than their new feather growth. It's nothing to worry about as long as the chick doesn't get chilled.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Do you see tiny pin feathers emerging in his bald areas? If so, he may be one of many chicks that grow faster than their new feather growth. It's nothing to worry about as long as the chick doesn't get chilled.

Nope. No pin feathers that I can see. However he does have some tiny feathers (see below) that appeared in odd places which weren't there a week ago. I even checked his tail very closely today looking for pin feathers since that's a place they commonly appear early in chicks. Nada. Just a balding nub.



I did give him some scrambled eggs tonight. I'll check in the morning and see if he ate any. He's a bit flighty if I hang around the cage although I do try to socialize with him throughout the day.