Feather Deformity in Chick

[classycanchaser]

Has anyone seen anything like this before? 3 week old Welsummer chick. I started noticing this when the feathers on that side first came in and it just kept getting worse. The other wing is normal. Also, this chick is half the size of the others its age. It's like it just stopped growing. Other feathers are slowly (very compared to others) coming in, including tail feathers. No breathing difficultly. Eats very well and is one of the first to the feeder. I notice it lays down a lot more often but there is no limp or problems seen moving. No joints feel swollen. She's on commercial chick starter and occasionally gets mealworms and greens. She was no different than the other chicks the first 1-2 weeks. All the other chicks are completely normal. I watch pretty closely and I've never seen any of the others pick on her. No history of trauma and nothing really in there for her to get caught, fall, or get squished. I'm stumped!

 

[1muttsfan]

Can you take a picture with a light shining down on the top of the chick, instead of having the light behind her?

 

[classycanchaser]

I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow

 

[classycanchaser]

Here are some better pictures. It doesn't seem like really any feathers are coming in on that side of her body and what feathers that are, are really deformed. You can also see how tiny she is compared to the others her own age. That's another welsummer just to her left.

 

[1muttsfan]

It seems quite likely, given that her deformity is on one side only, that she has a congenital defect. These are sometimes called "accidents of development." She may continue to grow, although end up abnormal, or if her issue is severe enough she might not thrive.

 

[TurnerEGGZ]

How is your chick doing? I just posted about my buff orp not feathering like the rest of the chicks. He (I think) is actually feathering out slower than chicks younger than him. Do we just wait it out? Still full of life just looks different :/ I'd even say he is as large as other chicks of his age but they all have feathers, lots of feathers.

 

[TurnerEGGZ]

Here is my chick... Around 6-7 weeks I believe

 

[classycanchaser]

Well, so far she's doing good.....she's just naked on that side of her body now. All of her chick fluff fell out and now she's just butt naked on the right side of her body. lol. At least her normal feathers have gotten longer and drape over that side a little bit.
I've talked to several people and the only thing we can conclude is this is just a freak genetic anomaly. I'm not sure what we'll do in the winter. It gets down to -20 here and I don't know if she'll survive. Maybe we'll get her a chicken sweater. haha

 

[TurnerEGGZ]

LMBO at chicken sweaters! Do those really exist haha. I'm going to have to Google that now! Yea, on my chick he is already losing his fuzz on the back part of his wings, I see tiny feather barbs starting in his tail on his chest so hopefully they come in soon, otherwise he will look like I me of those rubber chicken toys!

 

[classycanchaser]

Yeah I don't know if they make them or not. I figured we just buy a dog sweater and cut it to fit better. Either that she will need to find an indoor home before winter. I'm not having a chicken in the house. Cats would have a blast. She also has not grown anymore. Still super tiny.