Feather growth

[ConvenientHomestead]

We have a group of baby chicks (that we got as day olds from Murray McMurray) that are now approaching the beginning of their 5th week. Everyone is doing lovely and is basically fully feathered except one little lady who seems to have some difficulty in growing feathers. We have 18 older girls who we raised from day olds and this current group is 24 strong and this is the first time we've seen something like this. I am aware that some breeds feather slower, but this girl is looking rough! Any similar experiences out there?

 

[coach723]

What breed is the chick? There is a gene (K) that can cause slow feathering. Genetics make my head hurt, but there are loads of articles online that explain it far better than I possibly can. I had a chick last year, Barred rock/Andalusian mix that was very slow feathering. Eventually it did feather out and look normal. I haven't had a molt yet, to see what happens, but from what I've read, they can be slow to regrow feathers after molt as well. Picture of mine last year, with a hatch mate behind it. I think this was at 6 weeks.