Chick not growing feathers?

[tizabel_]

Hello, I’m new here! I have 7 english Orpington chicks of different ages. The three oldest ones ( almost 7 weeks) are about ready to move to the coop. I thought that you could move them when they were 6 weeks because that’s when they are fully feathered. The silver laced one is fully feathered but the other blue and black ones aren’t at 7 weeks! Is that normal for Orpingtons? Should I still move them or wait until they are completely feathered out? The nights get pretty cold where I am, around 35-40 is the low. The coop is also very drafty. I’m anxious to get them out of the brooder because it’s getting small for them but I don’t want to take any chances, what should I do? They are acclimated to daytime temp outside but not nighttime. Or is there something I could do to help them feather out? Thanks for any replies!

 

[briarandwillow]

They'll usually cuddle up together at night to keep warm. Mine feathered out really fast once I put them outside, possibly as a reaction to the cooler temps. Someone with more experience may have better answers!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Colder temperatures can make them feather out faster, so...

Any photos of the ones you're concerned about? They don't need full feathers, mostly feathered is good enough.

I would be more concerned about the drafts than anything - if feathers are getting ruffled, it doesn't matter if they have a full feather coat or not, they'll lose body heat. You need to figure out where the source of draft is and make some fixes.

 

[tizabel_]

Thank you, i‘ll fix the coop. Is letting them out during the day enough to help them feather out? The day temp is colder than their brooder.

This is the only pic i could find of the lack of feathers. This one I think has the most fuzz out of the three.
It might look like bare feathers due to others picking on her but I assure you they aren’t.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can start by letting them out just during the day. That'll give you some time to make fixes to the coop too.

From what I can see the body doesn't look too bad. I expect there to be some downy parts on/around the head, so that's not a surprise.

 

[tizabel_]

You can start by letting them out just during the day. That'll give you some time to make fixes to the coop too.

From what I can see the body doesn't look too bad. I expect there to be some downy parts on/around the head, so that's not a surprise.

Thanks for the help!