Light Brahma not feathering like others. Is something wrong?

[ShannonO]

I was checking out threads of LBs to see whether his is a boy or a girl, and realized s/he is not feathering in like the pics I found if similar-aged LBs. s/he has always been behind my other 10, but I assumed it was a breed difference.

Any problem with my 5week old': feathers here?

Buff O pic for comparison. The LB is probably top of the pecking order or close, struts and keeps a high neck, and always the first to run for treats out of my hand.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I wouldn't worry yet. Chicks go through several molts as they grow. At 5 weeks they sometimes resemble velociraptors.

Here are some Brahma chick pictures.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Brahma/BRKBrChix.html

Brahmas are very slow to mature so that may be why it appears to be behind the others.
What are they being fed? Chicks that age need a lot of protein.

 

[ShannonO]

Thanks for the reply! I wasn't worried til I started googling for pics of roos and found fully feathered 5-week olds.

They're getting southern states starter crumbles, fermented, plus whatever crawls into their run. We have tossed some chickweed in in the last three days.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I assume the starter feed is 18% protein?
It takes a lot of protein to grow feathers which are 93% protein.

 

[donrae]

I'm down to one Lt Brahma and have noticed she's also a bit slower to feather. The other chicks in the brooder are high production birds, so they're going to be on the faster maturing end of the spectrum.

Not guaranteeing our birds are both pullets, but I do think the slower maturing is normal for this breed.

 

[debid]

My dark Brahma was the slowest to feather and looked pretty pitiful next to the faster breeds. At 5 weeks, her wing bows had pins and her head/neck was covered but had puffs of down poking out, yet. I remember it well because that's the age the flock chose to go to roost, abandoning their heating pad hen. Yours looks at least a week behind her.

I will say that I believe your chick is a cockerel. Not just because it's slow to feather but because of the deep pink in the face. Too young for that much color in a pullet.