At what age do chicks get their full adult colors?

Robert Kazlauski

Chirping
Nov 9, 2023
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I haved a wyandotte, Easter Egger, and a buff orpington. My first two dont have what I would consider distinguishable coloring to their feathers at 1.5 months old. I am curious as to what they will look like as adult hens. When will they get their full coloring and feather patterning?
 
I haved a wyandotte, Easter Egger, and a buff orpington. My first two dont have what I would consider distinguishable coloring to their feathers at 1.5 months old. I am curious as to what they will look like as adult hens. When will they get their full coloring and feather patterning?
I would say the adult colors come in some time between 2 months and 6-8 months. Some breeds mature more quickly than others, but all of them will have several molts as they grow. They will definitely show the adult colors at the last chick molt (when they are pretty much grown up), but it seems a bit variable whether they show adult coloring before that or not.
 
I would say the adult colors come in some time between 2 months and 6-8 months. Some breeds mature more quickly than others, but all of them will have several molts as they grow. They will definitely show the adult colors at the last chick molt (when they are pretty much grown up), but it seems a bit variable whether they show adult coloring before that or not.
Do their colors change from one molt to another? Does their overall appearance change from one to another?
 
Do their colors change from one molt to another? Does their overall appearance change from one to another?
As they are growing up, yes the colors and especially the patterns can change from one molt to another. Some chickens are more prone to this than others. (I would expect a Buff Orpington to be solid buff at any age, but Easter Eggers seem very prone to shifting colors as they grow. If your Wyandotte is a laced pattern, I think that coloring tends to change a bit but not too drastically as they grow.)

After they are grown up, they will tend to molt once a year in the fall, and their colors/patterns will stay pretty much the same.
 
The laced varieties (whether single or double laced) tend to take longer to arrive at their final lace pattern. My Wyandottes were closer to 4 months old when they started looking like their final selves. My Double Silver Laced Barnevelders took even longer for the double lacing to show up, they looked single laced for a very long time.
 

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