BLRW chick with Stubby wings? Problem? Pictures!

[kelseygirl707]

Hello guys.

So I was playing with my week old BLRW babies, 3 of which are feathering out pretty fast, but one baby has little tiny wings, with barely any feathering. Is this a deformity, or maybe a roo? I heard Roo's feather out more slowly than pullets.

Normal Chick

stubby Wing Chick

Both side by side. Stubby in front.

 

[Chickengal505]

seems all right to me hahahaha makes him/her just that much cutier!!!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

In my experience, the majority of the chicks that are slow to feather turn out to be roosters.

 

[kelseygirl707]

Quote:
Well, if that is the case here, I would be happy because I want 3 hens and a Roo.

 

[808Carlson]

Hello guys.


So I was playing with my week old BLRW babies, 3 of which are feathering out pretty fast, but one baby has little tiny wings, with barely any feathering. Is this a deformity, or maybe a roo? I heard Roo's feather out more slowly than pullets.


Normal Chick

stubby Wing Chick

Both side by side. Stubby in front.

 

[808Carlson]

Hi I'm wondering if your chick with the stubby wing ended up ok?
I currently have 2 buff orp. Pullets they are 1 week old and One looks normal and one looks exactly like yours with her wings stubby.
She is super cute looking tho.

 

[chooks4life]

Yeah, it's normal, likely indicates it's male, but that does depend on breed. It's that far behind the others that I'd consider it a breed trait rather than an indication of gender. Males of many breeds tend to feather slower and will often be sporting secondaries only when the girls have three types of wing feathers 'on' already. But that's way far behind. Meat breeds are slow feathering a lot of the time.

Also, anything that was bred from generations of intensively caged birds tends to feather slower, I think it's due to being under a brooder until as long as six weeks, whereas normal free ranged chicks with their mothers experience a range of temperatures rather than being kept in a constant artificial temperature setting. I theorize this stimuli prompts them to feather faster.

 

[808Carlson]

Yeah, it's normal, likely indicates it's male, but that does depend on breed. It's that far behind the others that I'd consider it a breed trait rather than an indication of gender. Males of many breeds tend to feather slower and will often be sporting secondaries only when the girls have three types of wing feathers 'on' already. But that's way far behind. Meat breeds are slow feathering a lot of the time.

Also, anything that was bred from generations of intensively caged birds tends to feather slower, I think it's due to being under a brooder until as long as six weeks, whereas normal free ranged chicks with their mothers experience a range of temperatures rather than being kept in a constant artificial temperature setting. I theorize this stimuli prompts them to feather faster.

Bummer I have a feeling your right and it's a male I really like that one hes by far the cutest, but looks nothing like it's sister 1 week old but already has longer wings and started her tail feathers. Unfortunately where live they don't allow roosters
Thank you tho!

 

[chooks4life]

No guarantees, it's not for sure until it's crowing, and even then...

Any illness or injury, however slight, sets a baby back in growth. Mostly you won't notice it. If it got too cold one night, as an example, that was one night it didn't put its energy into growing while the others were doing just that. Anything that makes it burn energy to repair or maintain rather than grow can cause a setback or even stunting. It's not a guaranteed male.

If it is male though, and you want it as a pet, caponizing it is an option to some.

Interestingly people who think it's cruel to caponize/ desex and people who think it's cruel to not desex it come from both sides of the animals-as-food debate. It's a controversial topic and nobody agrees over it.

I don't know how much you know about caponizing, sorry if I'm repeating stuff you already know. It's got a pretty good survival rate if done by an experienced person, but traditionally is done without pain relief, while the animal is awake. It's best done while young. It's a short, quick procedure and most survive. If done under anesthetic though they run a large risk of dying because there isn't much research into making anesthetics work with birds like there is with humans, cats, dogs, etc. It's an option for those who want a male chook but can't keep him where they are but don't want him to be culled. He won't look or act like a rooster if you do that. If 'he' even is a 'he' --- have to wait and see. I'm not for or against caponizing for a pet's life's sake. All the best.

 

[808Carlson]

Thank you for all your knowledge I've actually never heard of that.
And she was the smallest in the bunch when I got her and was struggling a bit too survive so I just gave her more tlc and assisted her with water etc. And after the first couple days she bounced back and since became bouncy and active like rest... so hopefully like you said maybe she just has some catching up to do... either way thank you you've made me hopeful

No guarantees, it's not for sure until it's crowing, and even then... 

Any illness or injury, however slight, sets a baby back in growth. Mostly you won't notice it. If it got too cold one night, as an example, that was one night it didn't put its energy into growing while the others were doing just that. Anything that makes it burn energy to repair or maintain rather than grow can cause a setback or even stunting. It's not a guaranteed male.

If it is male though, and you want it as a pet, caponizing it is an option to some.

Interestingly people who think it's cruel to caponize/ desex and people who think it's cruel to not desex it come from both sides of the animals-as-food debate. It's a controversial topic and nobody agrees over it.

I don't know how much you know about caponizing, sorry if I'm repeating stuff you already know. It's got a pretty good survival rate if done by an experienced person, but traditionally is done without pain relief, while the animal is awake. It's best done while young. It's a short, quick procedure and most survive. If done under anesthetic though they run a large risk of dying because there isn't much research into making anesthetics work with birds like there is with humans, cats, dogs, etc. It's an option for those who want a male chook but can't keep him where they are but don't want him to be culled. He won't look or act like a rooster if you do that. If 'he' even is a 'he' --- have to wait and see. I'm not for or against caponizing for a pet's life's sake. All the best.