Chick feathering

[Ihavesomechickens]

I have five week old chicks and three of them have so many feathers. They have giant wings and tail buds. The other two have very small wings and one has a tiny little tail bud. I was wondering if there was anything wrong with them or if it was normal for some to grow slower than others.

 

[NatJ]

Yes, normal for chicks to get feathers at different rates.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The slower feathering ones could possibly be males, but that's not a guarantee. They could also be a little runty/little delayed in growth.

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

One of the slower feathering ones is a male but the other one is the most likely to be a female out of the whole batch. She is also a bit lighter and her voice is higher so I think she might just be a bit slow to grow.

 

[NatJ]

The slower feathering ones could possibly be males, but that's not a guarantee. They could also be a little runty/little delayed in growth.

The slowest feathering chick I've ever had was a pullet. She wasn't runty or delayed in growth, but she still looked mostly naked when the others were completely feathered! (Yes, she was a different breed than the others; I had about 10 breeds at the time, and the only really slow one was a sexlink pullet.)