Late Bloomer? Buff Brahma

[lifeonblueberryhill]

I ordered chicks from a popular hatchery (not going to name which one) 2 of them are buff brahmas, but they look a little different. For the most part they have always looked the same, but one doesn't have feathers on her feet and she seems to be getting feathers at a slower rate than her sister. Is it possible she is a late bloomer? Or do you think she may be mixed? I've already contacted the hatchery about it and we are going to wait and see what happens as she gets older.

Here is a picture of them at 1 week old:

and Here they are at Two Weeks old:

Sorry for the sideways images! But what do you think?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I ordered chicks from a popular hatchery (not going to name which one) 2 of them are buff brahmas, but they look a little different. For the most part they have always looked the same, but one doesn't have feathers on her feet and she seems to be getting feathers at a slower rate than her sister. Is it possible she is a late bloomer? Or do you think she may be mixed? I've already contacted the hatchery about it and we are going to wait and see what happens as she gets older.

Here is a picture of them at 1 week old:
View attachment 1369320

and Here they are at Two Weeks old: View attachment 1369316 View attachment 1369317

Sorry for the sideways images! But what do you think?

What's more possible is that they aren't the same breed. And it's male instead of a late bloomer. Some breeds the males shoulder and tail feathers come in much slower than females.

But maybe, I hatch chicks all the time and they don't all hatch perfect to their standard.

Cute babies.

 

[techbsmith]

It looks like you have a couple of issues going on - first, it looks like you have a pullet and a cockerel. The cockerels will feather much slower than the pullets in the first 6-8 weeks.

The second issue, the cockerel doesn't have any feathers on his feet. The coloration and appearance of the chick look like a buff brahma - except for the non feathered feet. All of the brahma's I have had were feathered on the feet from day 1.

It's possible you got a defect in the breed - or possibly a different breed. Chicks from hatcheries aren't as well bred as those from a breeder who has the breed-specific chicks. I got some Golden Laced Wyandottes from a hatchery and one of the cockerel's has a single comb instead of a pea comb. I have named him Kiev - aka Chicken Kiev, as he'll go into the freezer once he's big enough to process. I don't want the breed defect to get into my stock wyandottes.

 

[Rogue Chickens]

I agree with the thought she's not a Brahma. My Brahma had feathers on her feet the first week...

 

[lifeonblueberryhill]

I was a little worried about it being a cockerel. Missing the feathers on her feet really did throw me for a loop and I contacted the hatchery right away. They said they wanted to wait until she...he? was 8 weeks old to see what happens, but I'm guess she is not a true brahma. I already love her, but I'm a little disappointed.

 

[Gray Farms]

Not feather legged = Not a Brahma