Cochin Chick Not Growing Feathers

[McCluckster]

Hello everyone!

I have a little self blue cochin chick that I bought from one of my personal favorite hatcheries, Ideal Poultry. Unfortunately, this year was not a great year considering their genetics, as in the same batch I had a chick with pus coming from its eyes. Even with assisted feeding and watering, she still lost so much weight and eventually didn't make it, and she was a color I really was looking forward to add to my breeding pen .

Sometime around the middle of October I bought a batch of assorted bantams from Ideal, at a marked down price (they forgot 5 chicks from my last order!) I got this little one, who I haven't gotten attached too out of fear she won't be strong enough - but she's been surprising me for months. She has almost NO feathers, despite being just about 3 months old. Her other cochin siblings all have a full body of feathers and are double in size.
What I know and think:
>She is NOT getting bullied; she actually is the bully to the younger chicks I have her around! I have not seen the other chicks pecking her, and I monitor them often.
>She isn't "weak". She seems fine aside from being less feathered! She's energetic, loves grass and hay, and will run away from me when it's time to put them back up!
>I'm thinking this is poor genetics - and if this is, I need a general consensus. I want her to make it aside all else, but I'm assuming for my breeding pen (and my want to sell chicks), that I shouldn't include her just in case it's a condition that will spread to the offspring. I have no intention of culling her, but should this be done if it's something that she might not be able to live with? I've read many posts on poor genetics and - the general idea is most of them will seem fine, but won't end up making it for more than a year or two.
If this is the case, what's the best way I can make her comfortable and ensure she isn't suffering for as long as she does make it?

--included pictures of her from when I first got her, and several different aged pictures of the feathering getting worse. Sorry in advance for the length, this has mystified me like crazy!!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I'd question if both her parents were Frizzled. Unfortunately, this is one of the reasons why two Frizzles should not be bred together.

What is the coldest temps your area gets? That would be one of my concerns. If she's not going to grow feathers (and your flock is free of mites, lice, etc), then I'd consider putting a coat on her for extra warmth. (In the majority of cases, I don't recommend a coat, but this case might actually qualify.) Don't put a coat on her unless it's getting too cold and you can't bring her where it's warmer. During warmer months, I recommend keeping a saddle on her to protect her back at all times.

Come warmer months, when bugs are more active, keep a close eye on her for fly strike and mosquito carried illnesses. Without the feathers, she won't be able to protect herself from them, therefore be at a higher risk for mosquito carried diseases (like West Nile) and fly strike. Providing her with a good dust bathing area at all times might help her with this. Also, keep an eye on her for pecking order related injuries.

If she's otherwise healthy and has no troubles, then I don't see a reason to cull. She might need extra care, but besides that she should be fine. Though this might be a fluke thing, don't ever breed her, as it is possible for her to pass this (and other possible issues) down. Personally, how you've had other issues with this Hatchery, I'd end the all the lines you have and get breeders elsewhere. Who knows what could possibly be in their genetics, and even on the ones who seem fine, they could still have bad genetics and could pass them off to their offspring.

 

[McCluckster]

I'd question if both her parents were Frizzled. Unfortunately, this is one of the reasons why two Frizzles should not be bred together.

What is the coldest temps your area gets? That would be one of my concerns. If she's not going to grow feathers (and your flock is free of mites, lice, etc), then I'd consider putting a coat on her for extra warmth. (In the majority of cases, I don't recommend a coat, but this case might actually qualify.) Don't put a coat on her unless it's getting too cold and you can't bring her where it's warmer. During warmer months, I recommend keeping a saddle on her to protect her back at all times.

Come warmer months, when bugs are more active, keep a close eye on her for fly strike and mosquito carried illnesses. Without the feathers, she won't be able to protect herself from them, therefore be at a higher risk for mosquito carried diseases (like West Nile) and fly strike. Providing her with a good dust bathing area at all times might help her with this. Also, keep an eye on her for pecking order related injuries.

If she's otherwise healthy and has no troubles, then I don't see a reason to cull. She might need extra care, but besides that she should be fine. Though this might be a fluke thing, don't ever breed her, as it is possible for her to pass this (and other possible issues) down. Personally, how you've had other issues with this Hatchery, I'd end the all the lines you have and get breeders elsewhere. Who knows what could possibly be in their genetics, and even on the ones who seem fine, they could still have bad genetics and could pass them off to their offspring.

Thank you so much for your reply!!

I don't think this baby is frizzled - they don't offer the self blue Cochins in frizzled varieties, and I haven't personally noticed any feather curling. She grew out feathers for maybe the first 2 weeks of her life, and they seemed straight and healthy, and ever since they haven't grown back.

I'm in the lower parts of New Mexico, and right now we're going through a cold storm. We're having temps from 50 - 20 (fahrenheit) depending on the day. I do however have her outside with a heat lamp, and I brought her inside just tonight due to it snowing and being as low as 21 fahrenheit tonight and the next week. I have a heat lamp for my younger chicks outside and inside since it's super cold right now!

I'll definitely look into chicken sweaters - or someone who I can commission to make one for her - since she's already a Bantam and smaller than the other Bantam Cochins. I definitely don't want her getting fly strike, but thankfully mosquitoes aren't as common out here. My birds are both lice and mite free, thankfully . I'll be monitoring how she does in the summer. Is there any chance she's at risk of sunburn? Our hottest days in summer can reach 106, and I definitely would assume she might get sunburnt if she's out in the sun all day.

I definitely agree!! It sucks because they have the widest varieties of bantams, and even some breeds I've been super interested in (like cream and lemon brabanters). I've ordered both bantams and standards from them, and all the standards have had 0 issues. I wonder if they focus more on the amount of breeds and less on the quality, as they do say "mixed quality birds" for their advertising. I have no intention on ordering from them again, and will likely try to focus on locals, since they've always had better genetics to begin with. Just hard where I live, but not worth sick birds!! I will make sure to not hatch out any of her eggs in the future, as I definitely do not want to spread any potential bad genes.

Thank you so much for the comment and advice, it means a lot and you brought up a few things I didn't even take a moment to think about!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Thank you so much for your reply!!

I don't think this baby is frizzled - they don't offer the self blue Cochins in frizzled varieties, and I haven't personally noticed any feather curling. She grew out feathers for maybe the first 2 weeks of her life, and they seemed straight and healthy, and ever since they haven't grown back.

I'm in the lower parts of New Mexico, and right now we're going through a cold storm. We're having temps from 50 - 20 (fahrenheit) depending on the day. I do however have her outside with a heat lamp, and I brought her inside just tonight due to it snowing and being as low as 21 fahrenheit tonight and the next week. I have a heat lamp for my younger chicks outside and inside since it's super cold right now!

I'll definitely look into chicken sweaters - or someone who I can commission to make one for her - since she's already a Bantam and smaller than the other Bantam Cochins. I definitely don't want her getting fly strike, but thankfully mosquitoes aren't as common out here. My birds are both lice and mite free, thankfully . I'll be monitoring how she does in the summer. Is there any chance she's at risk of sunburn? Our hottest days in summer can reach 106, and I definitely would assume she might get sunburnt if she's out in the sun all day.

I definitely agree!! It sucks because they have the widest varieties of bantams, and even some breeds I've been super interested in (like cream and lemon brabanters). I've ordered both bantams and standards from them, and all the standards have had 0 issues. I wonder if they focus more on the amount of breeds and less on the quality, as they do say "mixed quality birds" for their advertising. I have no intention on ordering from them again, and will likely try to focus on locals, since they've always had better genetics to begin with. Just hard where I live, but not worth sick birds!! I will make sure to not hatch out any of her eggs in the future, as I definitely do not want to spread any potential bad genes.

Thank you so much for the comment and advice, it means a lot and you brought up a few things I didn't even take a moment to think about!

You're welcome. I'm glad that you found my post helpful.

According to another BYC member (unfortunately I can't remember who) who keeps Turkens near a desert area, chickens don't get sunburn. I have seen their skin go red where they are missing feathers, especially on their backs, but on mine that had this happen to them, they lived in a shaded area where sunburn wasn't a risk, so it was something else, which, I believe is something natural. Either way, keeping a saddle on her would be your best bet. If you're reaching temperatures that high, I do recommend providing plenty of shade (and dust baths) for all your birds so they don't overheat.

Unfortunately, it's a known fact that Hatcheries sell poor quality birds, just some are worst than others. Local is usually better, though not always. I've gotten some bad lines from local breeders too, so I suggest looking at the parent stock before buying. Also, ensure the breeder is NPIP certified, as you could get diseased birds; something of which, you shouldn't have to worry about with a Hatchery.

There are some good Hatcheries that sell quality, depending on what breeds you want and how much you're willing to spend. Greenfire is known as the top for rare varieties, but you have to pay a lot (which is likely due to the parent stocks are often imported). Murray McMurray Hatchery is another good one, and if you go over their breeds, you'll see they have some APA certified flocks.