Feathering in Speckled Sussex

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

Does MPC get their birds from Meyers?

I have no idea :/

 

[MGG]

I got her from My Pet Chicken as a day old with 9 others- mixed breeds. I've been trying to research this slow feathering issue and I can't find anything. Just that it can cause picking problems :/ The Golden Wyandotte was the fastest, all the others feathered roughly the same, except this one which has ALWAYS been slow. :/ I'm so sorry about your baby, that's what I've been worried about. The black astrolorpe seems to be the worst offender at feather picking so far. :/ what do you do if a chicken becomes a cannibal?? Do you have to cull it?

If she were my chicken, I would give her her own place to live. (A little coop, a fenced in area, etc.) I wish I had done this with my girl. I think all of your chickens are probably picking on her. So unless you want to cull all of your hens I would separate her and a buddy.

 

[MGG]

I have no idea :/

I'll search this real quick brb.

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

If she were my chicken, I would give her her own place to live. (A little coop, a fenced in area, etc.) I wish I had done this with my girl. I think all of your chickens are probably picking on her. So unless you want to cull all of your hens I would separate her and a buddy.

She's been inside the house for 6 days now :/ she does seem to be lonely. I can't keep her inside forever and I can't build her a new home for herself. I'm pushing things as it is in this neighborhood. I'm hoping I can keep her separated long enough for her to get all her feathers and not get picked anymore.

 

[MGG]

Ok so it sounds like they do. MPC is like a middle man for Meyer. Meyer handles the shipping for MPC, but Meyer's ships the birds. I think that is all right. So your bird us technically from Meyer's. Maybe you or I should contact them. They always say "failure to thrive", but they're clearly having some issues with their Speckled Sussexes. I don't have any more "adult" pics on this phone, but here she is as a 8 week old chick. She was so tiny and barely feathered. She looked frizzled almost.

 

[MGG]

She's been inside the house for 6 days now :/ she does seem to be lonely. I can't keep her inside forever and I can't build her a new home for herself. I'm pushing things as it is in this neighborhood. I'm hoping I can keep her separated long enough for her to get all her feathers and not get picked anymore.

I had my girl separated after almost getting cannibalized for 2 weeks with her docile sister. I put them back in one day, everything seemed ok. Went back out an hour later and all that was left was some feathers and her head. It was so sad. My point is, you'll probably never be able to put her back in. I think mine(and probably yours too) had genetic issues that the other hens could sense. RIP Dottie

 

[MGG]

Here she is as an 8 week old chick. She feathered out a tiny bit more, although she never got speckles, she stayed mostly red.

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

Here is her feathering. I just sent an email with my concerns. I might call them.

 

[MGG]

Here is her feathering. I just sent an email with my concerns. I might call them. View attachment 2139831

Looks just like mine! Poor girl

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

I'm really sorry that happened- Chipmunk is 12-13 weeks old now, how old was Dottie? She has almost all her feathers it's just her back and tail now. I think she'll be okay once she has the rest of her feathers in, it's just getting her to that point and then the reintegration. She's a very brave and curious girl, not super docile or anything.