Baby Chick Not Growing Feathers

[TempletonPeck]

Here are my buff Orpingtons at nearly 4 weeks old.
Your chick is just beautiful - that colour!

 

[MysteryChicken]

I brood mine in an insulated shed. The temperatures vary anywhere from 58 to upper 70s depending on our daytime highs and lows. I have a light for them to warm up under. I see you are from Michigan too so you know how are temperatures vary.

Thanks for sharing your picture. It is nice to see someone else with a late bloomer.

Good conditions in the shed I see. Yep I'm a Michigander too.

You're welcome. Mines a slow feathering breed called Malay, but it varies between individuals. Same with other breeds.

 

[BrickCoop15]

Here are my buff Orpingtons at nearly 4 weeks old.
Your chick is just beautiful - that colour!

Wow! Your chicks are nicely feathered out. Hopefully, mine will look like that soon.

Thanks for sharing your picture. Its nice seeing other people's baby chicks and how they are growing.

 

[Dharmachick]

I had a slow to feather and grow chick and I started with some meal worms every day. Poof! She feathered out in about 2 weeks. She was 8 weeks old with only 4 feathers before the mealworms.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Give it time. I’m in MI and the temp swings are extra crazy. If there are on heat perhaps adjust it so temp is no higher than 80. 3 wk old should be able to wean by now and that may promote feathering. BTW, I see tail buds so somethings happening with this ultra cute chickie.

 

[Waldner Farms Manitoba]

Nice chick and I just happened to stumble on this thread because we happen to have a Brahma doing the exact same thing. We have never had this happen before. We will try the mealworm trick to see.

 

[BrickCoop15]

I had a slow to feather and grow chick and I started with some meal worms every day. Poof! She feathered out in about 2 weeks. She was 8 weeks old with only 4 feathers before the mealworms.

Thanks! I will have to try that.

 

[BrickCoop15]

Give it time. I’m in MI and the temp swings are extra crazy. If there are on heat perhaps adjust it so temp is no higher than 80. 3 wk old should be able to wean by now and that may promote feathering. BTW, I see tail buds so somethings happening witpūh this ultra cute chickie.

I will adjust their heat today. Its definitely time to wean them off of heat. The rest of the babies are nicely feathered out already.

It does look like the tail is trying to grow feathers. I have never had a chick develop tail feathers first. I guessI will have to wait and see how this interesting chick turns out.

 

[Dharmachick]

Mine is 13 weeks old now and finally fully feathered. She is small compared to my other English orps, and she HATES to go outside. I've been using her as a nanny to newly hatched chicks since she wasn't able to go outside, but I will put her out with the batch of babies she's with now. Poor FTT, she doesn't want to be an outside chicken!

 

[K0k0shka]

Some are just late bloomers... Very late... But all adult chickens have feathers, so she'll get there eventually I have a batch of Lavender Orpingtons right now too, and also have one that's having a hard time figuring out his feathers. At least yours still has the fluff. Mine dropped the fluff on a large part of the body but is taking forever to grow feathers in those places, so for the longest time just had bare skin, which was very odd. The chicks are 6 weeks old now and all but that one are fully feathered, and that one has most of his feathers, but his butt and sides are still just skin... He's getting there, just very slowly. They are being raised outside by two broodies, so I play no part in the temperature regulation. Everybody is active, growing and doing well otherwise, and that's what matters.