Chicks not fully feathered - too much heat?

[Shemira]

Hello, we have 3 chicks, 7 weeks old.

They are in our living room currently, we have a wood fire in the room, but it can get chilly in the early hours of the morning (I'm not sure of temp, maybe down 7ish celsius).

It is around 0 or just below outside (we are in Australia so winter atm)

I have a eco brooder plate in with them and they still use it alot (they stay under it all night, and pop in and out during the day - our day temps are around 14 celsius).

One has been quite small and weak since hatching (the others are around twice its size now) and this one still has quite a bit of down.

They can go outside during the day as they please and the bigger two (they are nearly fully feathered) are spending more time outdoors, but the little one doesn't like to go out.

I'm not sure if I should remove the brooder plate, or wait, or alternatively I have a heating mat I could place under the brooder pen, which is warm but doesn't put out quite as much heat. My gut instinct is the little one might struggle.

I feel like they are very slow developing their feathers, would this be due to the warmth of the wood fire in the room?

Sorry so many questions lol. TIA for any advice

 

[rosemarythyme]

They're supposed to feather faster with exposure to more temperature variance, though not sure how true that is. Definitely harder to move chicks out in winter than in spring/summer though.

Any photos of the one you're worrying about so we can see the feathering and size?

 

[Perris]

It may be genetic. You might find this useful:
"k+ - Sometimes called rapid feathering. Recessive.
K - Late feathering gene.
Ks - Slow feathering gene.
Kn - Very slow feathering or 'delayed' feathering gene. The order of dominance among the genes allelic to this locus is Kn>Ks>K>k+. The slow feathering gene is believed to be associated with a bald patch on the back of the adolescent bird. The feathers do come in given enough time. Since this is likely due to a dose effect of the slow feathering gene, the homozygous males should be the most likely to exhibit the trait. In my personal flocks, I have both males and females exhibiting this. Many novice poultry keepers wrongly attribute the bald back phenotype with a picking problem."
From https://cluckin.net/chicken-genetics-gene-table-and-breeding.html

 

[cavemanrich]

I'm not sure if I should remove the brooder plate, or wait, or alternatively I have a heating mat I could place under the brooder pen, which is warm but doesn't put out quite as much heat. My gut instinct is the little one might struggle.

Leave your brooder plate as is, until all your chicks are comfortable not staying under it. I don't have a timeframe.
Usually right before winter sets in is not the ideal time to hatch chicks. But you need to do as things are currently for you. Do your best..


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Shemira]

Leave your brooder plate as is, until all your chicks are comfortable not staying under it. I don't have a timeframe.
Usually right before winter sets in is not the ideal time to hatch chicks. But you need to do as things are currently for you. Do your best..


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

Thankyou Yes I now understand why summer would be much better, lesson learnt lol

 

[kattabelly]

How high is the brooder plate now? If you haven't already, you can start weaning them off it by raising it right up so there's a big gap between the chicks and the plate and it's just giving them a bit of extra heat. They'll huddle together under the brooder plate out of habit and learn to warm each other up that way.

You could also move the raised-up brooder plate into something like a cardboard box just big enough for them to comfortably sleep in, to teach them to sleep there, then take away the plate and just let them use the box for a bit of extra insulation. Box either on its side, or upside-down with a doorway cut in one side. Add some narrow horizontal windows along the top of the sides for ventilation and to let more light in. This is what I do to take slightly larger groups of 1-2 week old chicks off heat in what passes for summer in Scotland - my indoor temps right now are maybe 5° higher than yours.