Hatchlings without feathers....

destinshawn0829

Hatching
7 Years
Jan 17, 2013
2
0
7
I am just getting in to Quail rasing, I have Pharoah and Texas A and M. The first of my eggs hatched two days ago, and are fine. I had some issues with the brooder, but mostly got it fixed. But I have more hatching now, and they have few to no feathers. It is like they are hatching too early, but they are actually hatching later than the others. One of the featherless, or few feathered, has survived throughout the night, however, I have lost like 6.... ANY explanations or ideas?
 
Usually the chicks will look like they are featherless just after hatching. However by 24 hours later or when completely dry, they should have a nice coating of down like feathers covering their bodies.

If they are truly "featherless" or "down" as it is called at their age, then there was trouble in incubation land. You may have had too high a temp, low humidity or even too much ventilation. Also, leaving them in the hatcher too long before moving them to the brooder can leave chicks with short or little down.

Sometimes the fair colored birds do seem to look bald for a few days after hatch, however if the chicks are dying, then I would look to your incubation process and see if next time things don't improve. With a good set of properly stored eggs, correct incubation temps, humidity and ventilation, the chicks should hatch on time and be happy, healthy babies. :)
 

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