Feather problems? [updated with 6 1/2 week pictures]

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TimG

TimG

Songster
11 Years
Jul 23, 2008
1,353
26
194
Maine
I've got two 10-day old chicks whose feathers haven't all fluffed out. It's particularly noticeable on their backs:

13544_feathers1.jpg


Their wing feathers also seem narrower than they should be. Their brood mates do not have these gaps between their wing feathers.

13544_feathers2.jpg


13544_feathers3.jpg


These two chicks are amongst the smallest, but I'm not sure whether that perception has as much to do with the non-fluffiness as with their actual size. They seem otherwise healthy.

When they hatched, it appeared as if their feathers never dried. I thought maybe there was something sticky on them, but washing one of these chicks had no effect.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Tim

PS All three of these pictures are of the same Welsumer chick. The other with this same condition is a Partridge Chantecler.
 
Last edited:
Hi i have the same problem. i posted yesterday mine are 2 1/2 months old and it looks like they have been plucked when they were little they looked just like yours now there older and it looks just horrible 4 out of my 20 have it 3 cochins and my OEGB?????
Here is a pic I wonder if there just slow growing they have filled out a little not much though
28795_chickens_june_2009_053.jpg
 
Tim I would not worry everything looks OK. They will keep growing as the chick grows. You are dealing with two breeds like most heritage breeds grow a bit slower than non heritage breeds. Just wait till they hit 4 weeks and you will see a big difference. BTW some will grow feathers slower than others so if you see that also do not worry. Just enjoy them.
 
What Tim may find is that the smaller ones with the sparser feathers turn out to be roos. What Cackling Hen has is a case of feather plucking by others, which needs some Blue Kote on the spot so it does not get bloody and lead to cannibalism.
 
Quote:
Thanks, I'm not so much worried as curious. These two are quite different than their brood mates of the same breed.
 
The roos develop their back feathers last. My pullets are always fully feathered and the cockerels have downy backs. As for the narrow feathers I have no idea just wait and see what happens when they molt.
 
Quote:
That's the thing: these two have never had a downy back.

I'd be rather pleased if these 2 are cockerels and the other 13 are pullets!
 
13544_cfluff.jpg


Above is a typical example of my nearly 3-week old Chanteclers. The white patch on the back is fluffy feathers.

Below is the Chantecler chick with odd feathers. Notice how the feathers on the neck are more like hair and have no fluff to them. That light patch on its lower back is actually where you can see through to skin. In the wing you can see 5-6 parallel lines that are feather shafts -- the surrounding feathers are not full enough to cover them.

13544_cnofluff.jpg


The condition is rather perplexing because one of my Welsumers has the same condition. Here are two Welsumer pictures for comparison.

13544_wfluff.jpg


Above is a typical Welsumer chick. Below is the one with odd feathers. Notice the shafts visible in the wing and the "hairy" feathers on the back in the 2nd photo. While in the 1st photo the wing feathers fully overlap with little or no shaft visible and the back feathers are all fluffed.

13544_wnofluff.jpg


It looks like the "odd" feathers have been oiled or dipped in hair gel. These two chicks are the smallest of their breeds. They all came from the same incubator batch. Since the condition appears in two different breeds from two different sources, I would not be surprised if the condition was environmental rather than genetic. Then again, only these 2 out of 15 chicks from the same incubator hatch look like this.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
One more thing, the Welsumer with the odd feathers also has an odd comb.
13544_nocomb.jpg

That's him on the bottom, there is no comb growth, and one of his siblings showing typical comb growth for this group.

The other one with odd feathers is a Partridge Chantecler, a cushion combed breed, so there's nothing different about it's comb -- none of them have any comb growth. (Yes, it has occurred to me that maybe this one is a Partridge Chantecler. The breeds do look similar, but their face markings make them easy to tell apart and I'm 99% sure this one is a Welsummer.)
 
Three new pictures. Still curious whether anyone has any ideas what this might be.
13544_wf1.jpg

Yes, that's a sort of bald spot on the neck.
13544_wf2.jpg

Notice the thin wing feathers with visible shafts.
13544_wf3.jpg
 

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