light brahma chicks - not many feathers - scaly skin

[TinyBirds]

I have about 10 light brahma chicks and they just don't seem to be getting feathers like our other chicks. Is this something specific to this breed? I can't find anything on-line. All our other chicks look fine. They are all outdoors together in an open-air type coop (PVC w/ tarp overhead) and they still act fine just like the other chicks. They eat and drink and they're growing fine. They just look terrible though! I don't see any bugs crawling on them, but they just look so scraggly and awful that if I saw them at someone else's house I'd think they were horribly neglected and diseased. It's just weird to me that none of the other breeds (around 6 breeds total) look like that. I kept thinking they'd get feathers on their backs but so far it just keeps looking worse. They have wing-feathers, but it's mainly on their backs that they don't have feathers. The skin looks scaly to me. I prefer not to resort to any medications or pesticides since we have an organic farm. When I have a chance later I'll try to take a picture of them.
Thanks for any advice!
Jenny

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

It sounds to me like they are picking and eating eachothers back feathers. What % protein is your feed?

 

[TinyBirds]

They eat "flock raiser" crumbles. I'm wondering if maybe they had mites or something when I got them, so maybe I'll try dusting them in diatomaceous earth just in case that helps. It just seems strange to me that none of the other birds in the same pen are affected. They're all about the same age (4 weeks or so - I can't remember exactly).

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Hmmm. That should be fine to feed them. What color is the heat lamp? Sometimes white heat lamps can cause picking.

 

[TinyBirds]

I wish I'd taken pictures when I first got them so I would remember if they had feathers on their backs back then. I have a bad memory. I'm now thinking they might be more like 6 weeks old since they don't need a heat lamp any more. It's not that cold here, but I did have a heat lamp for them up until about a two weeks ago. I don't remember what type of light-bulb it was - sorry!
Thanks!