One of my chicks has ZERO tail feathers

[KayChickMom29]

One of my 2 week old ISA Brown chicks is the smallest out of my 5 girls. 1 other ISA Brown and 3 Rhode Island Reds, all 2 weeks old. But my smallest girl, I started calling her Butterball, hasn't grown any tail feathers! And her wings are slower growing in too. Whereas everyone else is growing in their wings and tail feathers nicely. Everyone drinks, eats, and poops fine and regularly as far as i know. These are my 1st chicks ever. I want to make sure she's healthy and just a slow bloomer. (See pics! I included her sister, Betty White, for comparison)

 

[sourland]

Picture is of a healthy chick. They are all individuals and develop at different rates. You have no problem with that chick.

 

[NatJ]

The heat in their brooder has been sitting at 90 degrees since they hit 2 weeks last Friday.

Is that 90 degrees everywhere, or is that 90 degrees in one place with other areas cooler?

Chicks do not need a temperature that is the same everywhere.

They need one place to warm up when they are cold (under a broody hen, under a heat lamp, etc.) They will usually sleep in the warm place too.

Other than that, chicks should have access to whatever temperature is naturally available. The more they have the choice to go play in cool temperatures, the more they will adapt themselves to those temperatures.

 

[Lillith37]

She may just be a late bloomer. If she is otherwise acting normal, I would just make sure her crop is full at bed time and emptying by the morning to make sure she is getting enough to eat.

 

[Lillith37]

So I have no idea what I'm feeling when I touch around her breast/crop area is it normal for it to almost engorged like a food baby? Cause I think sometimes they overstuffed themselves

Yeah so the crop is a muscular pouch that sits at the right side of their breast and when it is full of food should be easily felt and in chicks it’s pretty easy just to see it sticking out because they don’t have their feathers yet. They will eat and digest intermittently throughout the day and should instinctively fill up before bed time so they have a big meal to digest overnight.

 

[Lillith37]

Ok, then I think that's what everyone is doing, including my Itty bitty one. Also, with them being 2 weeks old, I've been leaving the heat lamp on, because here in Southeastern Virginia, we still have days with lows of mid 30s. Though it's slowly warming up to lows of mid 50s and highs of 60-70s. Do they still need the heat lamp at night? The heat in their brooder has been sitting at 90 degrees since they hit 2 weeks last Friday.

They need some source of warmth whilst they are feathering out because they can’t regulate their temperature without feathers. I know that you gradually decrease the heat in the brooder as they get older. I have always had a hen raise chicks so unfortunately I can’t comment on the specific temps required. I do know it’s best to have the heat source at one end of the brooder so the chicks can go to warm up and cool down as they require. If the chicks are spaced evenly in the brooder it means they are okay. If they are clustered away from the heat source they are probably too hot, and if they are huddled around it they are too cold. Just watch them and you’ll see if you need to adjust the temp.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

One of my 2 week old ISA Brown chicks is the smallest out of my 5 girls. 1 other ISA Brown and 3 Rhode Island Reds, all 2 weeks old. But my smallest girl, I started calling her Butterball, hasn't grown any tail feathers! And her wings are slower growing in too. Whereas everyone else is growing in their wings and tail feathers nicely. Everyone drinks, eats, and poops fine and regularly as far as i know. These are my 1st chicks ever. I want to make sure she's healthy and just a slow bloomer. (See pics! I included her sister, Betty White, for comparison)

slow feathering tail? that may be a rooster.

 

[NatJ]

slow feathering tail? that may be a rooster.

If it is really an ISA Brown chick, it is absolutely NOT a male.

ISA Browns are color-sexable, and that red down is the female color.

 

[NatJ]

It's 90 degrees right under the brooder. It's about 85-87 on the other end of the brooder. It isn't the biggest area, they're in a plastic storage tote that they're starting to try to jump out of. They like to sleep in the middle of the tote. Right at the edge of the heat lamp.

I would really try to expand their space-- maybe tape several cardboard boxes together to make something larger?

If they are sleeping at the edge of the heat lamp, that is just about perfect for the warm area. They have options to go a bit warmer or cooler if they want.

But if that perfect spot for sleeping is in the middle of the tote, then they do not have enough cool area. When they are awake during the day, they should spend most of their time in the cool space: and that's half the tote or less.

And if the cool end is 85-87 degrees, I would try to make it much cooler (like 70 degrees or cooler.) The main ways to do that are to use a bigger brooder or a smaller heat source. If someone is using a big 250 watt bulb for heat, it is easy to put in a smaller light bulb to get less heat. But if your heat source isn't easy to adjust, then making the brooder bigger is the usual way to provide cooler temperatures.

The weather is very back and forth and rainy in my area lately so it's been a little harder getting outside. But this week will be nicer so I'll take them out more

Do you already have a coop outside that is ready for them? If you run an extension cord, you can just move the heat source and the chicks out to the coop. That would provide them with more space, and more access to cool temperatures, and is usually much easier than trying to make a bigger/cooler brooder indoors.

When a broody hen raises chicks outdoors, the chicks come out and run around in all temperatures, even down below freezing. Then they go underneath her to warm up, then back in the cold again. Chicks you raise can do the same thing, if you give them access to a cool area and a warm area. They will probably surprise you with how much time they can comfortably spend in cool temperatures when they have the choice.

 

[KayChickMom29]

I would really try to expand their space-- maybe tape several cardboard boxes together to make something larger?

If they are sleeping at the edge of the heat lamp, that is just about perfect for the warm area. They have options to go a bit warmer or cooler if they want.

But if that perfect spot for sleeping is in the middle of the tote, then they do not have enough cool area. When they are awake during the day, they should spend most of their time in the cool space: and that's half the tote or less.

And if the cool end is 85-87 degrees, I would try to make it much cooler (like 70 degrees or cooler.) The main ways to do that are to use a bigger brooder or a smaller heat source. If someone is using a big 250 watt bulb for heat, it is easy to put in a smaller light bulb to get less heat. But if your heat source isn't easy to adjust, then making the brooder bigger is the usual way to provide cooler temperatures.


Do you already have a coop outside that is ready for them? If you run an extension cord, you can just move the heat source and the chicks out to the coop. That would provide them with more space, and more access to cool temperatures, and is usually much easier than trying to make a bigger/cooler brooder indoors.

When a broody hen raises chicks outdoors, the chicks come out and run around in all temperatures, even down below freezing. Then they go underneath her to warm up, then back in the cold again. Chicks you raise can do the same thing, if you give them access to a cool area and a warm area. They will probably surprise you with how much time they can comfortably spend in cool temperatures when they have the choice.

Building their coop is my project for the week. Especially because they're officially able to perch on the lip of the tote they reside in now. We're spending some time outside today since it's 70 and not very windy. They are currently sleeping together. 1 on top of a branch I put in as a perch. But they don't seem all that bothered