Odd feather condition

[TimG]

Thanks for that link.

It is not Stringy (st) because my chicks are now 7 weeks old and all that exhibit Stringy (st) died before two weeks of age.

Stringy-2 (st-2) seems a possibility, though the condition on my chicks is not limited to wing and tail feathers.

Ropy (ropy) is a dead-on description "'Sticky' newly-hatched chicks which failed to dry to their usual fluffiness". I guess I'll have to wait until they mature to know, but they certainly don't look "superficially normal" at seven weeks.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
Yes, two different breeds from two different breeders would appear to make it a very unlikely coincidence if it is genetic.

But, the fact that they have exhibited this condition since hatch would lead me to believe the condition is not a result of (post-hatch) environment.

These chicks looked wet or sticky from the beginning, just as every chick looks. But, they never "dried". When they still looked sticky after about 24 hours, I used a warm washcloth to see if I could "unstick" the down. It didn't work.

This brood was in the house for about 3 weeks where we saw them regularly. I haven't seen any evidence that they've been picked on. I thought there was potential for them being picked on because their feathers looked different. But, it wasn't the case. They seem just a vigorous as the other chicks (except they appear a bit smaller because their feathers aren't fluffed the same).

The Welsumer with this condition does have a deformed comb, or at least it is not developing like the others. But, that could be because it is a female. Partridge Chanteclers have cushion combs, so there really isn't any difference with that one. In fact, the Welsumer with the feather condition has a comb that looks like the Chantecler combs, i.e. virtually no comb -- I have wondered from time to time whether the Welsumer with the condition is actually a Chantecler, but I'm 99.9% sure that is not the case.