Late bloomers?

[ShenValleyChick]

My barred rocks and EEs are coming up on 3 1/2 weeks old. All of the girls have feathered out beautifully except for two of the rocks. They have stubby tails, two-thirds of their wing feathers and barely any chest feathers. They look really sad and dull compared to the other girls who have lustrous feathers.. Is it possible that they are just late bloomers? I was concerned because I noticed one of the little ones looked like the fuzz on her head was wet and now I'm thinking they are being picked on. I even moved the whole flock to a much larger brooder and added a feeder to allow the little ones more access to food in case the big girls are bullying them. Any other thoughts or ideas? I don't see any improvements with what I've already done and I'm starting to get worried

 

[emys]

Can you section off a separate area for those two away from the others? With the damage in place the bald spots look inviting. Give them a chance to grow some feathers in before you put them back or you could use Blu-kote.

 

[ShenValleyChick]

The brooder is big enough I'm sure I could just put poultry netting across part of it to section the two off. Good idea! Thanks!

 

[Barrdwing]

Aren't there slow-feathering strains of Barred Rock? I think I remember running across a mention of that somewhere. Regardless, separating the two from the rest of the flock sounds like a good idea, at least until they get some feathers, poor things!