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Chick not feathering out the same

Discussion in 'Raising Baby Chicks' started by Pineywoods Peepers, Aug 2, 2010.

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  1. Aug 2, 2010 #1
    Pineywoods Peepers

    Pineywoods Peepers Certified Poultry Accruer

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    Pineywoods of East Texas
    My chicks will be 4 weeks old Wednesday. I have 5 Wellsummers - 4 pullets and 1 roo. However, one of the pullets is not feathering out like her siblings or any of the other chicks. 4 of the Wellies have gotten their darker colored feathers in and have nice tailfeathers, but this little gal is still colored up like she was when she arrived. Her real feathers don't seem to be coming in, and she also seems pretty undersized. Is she just a late bloomer, or is there something wrong with her? Her appetite seems good, but she just doesn't seem to be maturing at the same rate as any of the other chicks and in comparison to the other Wellies she's pretty tiny. Here are some pictures of her:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I'll try to get some pics of her siblings this evening, so you can see a comparison of her versus them.

    Thanks for any insight.

    Rachel
     
  3. Aug 2, 2010 #2
    chicmom

    chicmom Dances with Chickens

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    That is perfectly OK. Sometimes you just get a chick that is very slow to feather out. I had a little GLW roo that took so long to feather, it was really funny because he was all fuzz on the body, and his fuzz was starting to look very thin, so he looked a bit bald, but he had a little bit of wing feathers, so he looked really funny for the longest time.

    He turned out to be BEAUTIFUL. Not to worry![​IMG]
     
  5. Aug 2, 2010 #3
    georgialee

    georgialee Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Some chicks are just like that. I have an 8 weeker that is almost all pin feathers... the only feathers that are completely in are on his wings. She'll looks pretty soon!
     
  7. Aug 2, 2010 #4
    heksa

    heksa Chillin' With My Peeps

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    I have one EE chick that is half the size of the other 8 and more baby fuzz then feathers... A few weeks ago (they are now 5 weeks old) there were actually three of them like that but the others started catching up. This one seems OK - eats, poops and hangs out with my 2 silkies. I've heard that boys are slower feathering out and with overall developement, so I'm expecting this one to be a rooster, although I have a few more candidates to be roos in my bunch, so we will just have to see if this theory pens out.
     
  9. Aug 2, 2010 #5
    33yardbirds

    33yardbirds Chillin' With My Peeps

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    They're all different, some get tails others wings no tails, some feather on the head, like kids they sprout at different rates.
     
  11. Aug 2, 2010 #6
    Tala

    Tala Flock Mistress

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    In my experience, those that are slow to feather out have always turned out to be roos, but yours doesn't look very suspect.
    She looks healthy anyway despite her sparse feathers, it's just one of those things.
    What you could do is put out a second feeder just in case she's getting bullied away due to her smaller size.
     
  13. Aug 13, 2010 #7
    Pineywoods Peepers

    Pineywoods Peepers Certified Poultry Accruer

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    Just thought I'd post an updated picture on my late blooming girl. I know folks have told me not to worry, but I can't help but be worried, because she doesn't look much different now than she did when I posted a couple of weeks ago.

    [​IMG]

    The delayed girl (on the right)

    [​IMG]
    What my other Wellie pullets look like

    She doesn't seem to be getting picked on by the other chicks, and her appetite and energy levels are good. Am I just fretting too much??

    Georgialee, how is your pin feather roo doing?

    Rachel
     
  15. Aug 13, 2010 #8
    gritsar

    gritsar Cows, Chooks & Impys - OH MY!

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    Are you sure she's not your roo? "She" sure looks like she could be one. What does your known? cockerel look like compared to her? You said you have a known cockerel, so I'm curious to know how you figured out which was which.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2010
  17. Aug 13, 2010 #9
    Pineywoods Peepers

    Pineywoods Peepers Certified Poultry Accruer

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    Pineywoods of East Texas
    Quote:I caught him crowing when he was 3 weeks old. [​IMG] But he hasn't crowed since. I'm beginning to wonder if I scared the crow out of him??

    Here's a pic of my handsome little guy:

    [​IMG]

    See how feathered out he is?? Weird!
     
  19. Aug 13, 2010 #10
    aussieheelr

    aussieheelr Chillin' With My Peeps

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    I'd bet you have 2 roos there. From what I've noticed my roos sure tend to feather out slower, just a thought.
     
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