A couple chicks not feathering in very well

[suki'smom]

I have 32 month old chicks and most of them are almost totally feathered and are just gorgeous. Then I have 3 that are the same size as everyone else, good weight, healthy appetite but have almost the same amount of feathers as when they were two weeks old. The feathers are mainly on their wings with a few on their backs and chests. These three are also different breeds. I give them grit and oyster shell and the eat their chick starter like champs. I'm fairly certain this is normal but does anyone have any suggestions as to why or what I can do to help them feather in? Also I ordered 3 roosters of different breeds and lost a chick from each of those breeds, when do the rooster characteristics start to show. Two of those breeds there are chicks that combs are turning red and nobody else's are. Could these two be roosters?
Thanks so much

 

[dianaross77]

First off, take the oyster shell away. They should only be getting that if they are laying. Too much calcium can cause problems. Secondly, if they are one month old and you have any with red looking combs those are cockerels. Some people also swear that slow feathering chicks are cockerels. I had one that was a lot slower to feather than the other 3 and she is in fact a girl. Chicks just develop at their own rates. They'll catch up. As far as when they start to show the rooster characteristics, that depends on the breed and individual chick.

 

[ranchhand]

dianaross77 nailed it!

 

[suki'smom]

Thanks for the info

They don't even bother with the oyster shell but I have it in case they feel like they need it even though I've never even seen them look at it. I'm happy that the two with red combs are cockerels now hopefully my third will show its colors but if not at least I have two instead of none