Scraggly 7 week old Easter Egger still not feathered...

Hello folks! I got a batch of 10 adorable Easter Egger chicks from My Pet Chicken that hatched on September 28. One chick was smaller and struggled for the first couple of weeks. At about 3 weeks Camilla got her groove back but was never accepted back into the group. Fortunately I had ordered to partridge olive egger chicks as well and those gentle souls and my bossy girl have formed their own mini flock. My concern is that Camilla is not feathering well. She is significantly smaller in stature than the other chicks from the same hatch but I find that less concerning since she is eating well, has good muscle tone and feels to be in good body condition. All of my youngsters get pre and probiotics. I am feeding Dumor 20% starter feed as well as providing fresh veggies and live meal worms as special treats. The pictures below show Camilla with a couple of the chicks she hatched with for comparison.

The first shot is just Camilla so you can see how bright and alert she looks. The next photo is with Cressida who is the average size and feather stage as all of the other chicks.

Since it is obvious I have these guys in my house for these photos I feel the need to explain that some of these chicks with be trained to be part of the humane education and therapy programs that our farm sanctuary offers to the public. I get to know all the chicks and learn which ones have the personality to enjoy training and new experiences. Hence, we do training sessions in the house. And our chicks who are not cut out for show biz have a great life being chickens and laying eggs on the farm.
Camilla is a Speckled Sussex, btw.
 
Firstly it sounds like you are naming them after the royal family, which tickled me in all the right places! Camilla does totally look like a Speckled Sussex, and does kinda look like a boy (MPC sent me a boy SS on accident too!). More importantly, maybe Camilla is just behind because of the delay caused by being small, getting a rougher start. I wish I had more to say in terms of knowledge, but it sounds like you are doing all the right things. If I were in your position I would be giving chick vitamins on occasion, some yogurt for probiotics from time to time and just good feed (and asking questions on here!). I hope he/she catches up...and doesn't become a "he" like the comb and wattles predict right now, it's a bit early for the pink wattles and that comb looks like it has popped a bit for this age to be a pullet, but it may stop or slow in the weeks to come, it's really early to tell. Good luck!
 
First let me be so bold as to answer your tag line-we stand a good chance of finding our better selves in the hen house! She should be but the other speckled Sussex that came from the same hatching day are also way ahead of her. As a little chick she looked exactly like the other Easter eggers—like a fuzzy chipmunk chicken. It’s not impossible but she is still way behind with the feathering. Again—she seems very healthy otherwise which is why I’m so puzzled.

This little one is definitely on the odd side of things. I am hoping the corner can be turned and she/he ends up thriving like everyone else.

Please do updates so we can all learn no matter the outcome.
 
Eye roll not necessary. I was in the hospital when you posted this. You aren't the OP. I'm not sure if I can make this about me. But I was hit by a car bike riding. A mountain bike. And my battery was low I didn't respond. I raised adult chickens before. Mine molted similar. But this chicken has something else.
Chickens molt at 15-18 months. They molt out a few tail feathers around 8-10 weeks.
And I’m sorry for what happened to you, but saying ’I’m not sure you can make this about me’ and then making it all about you is kinda ruining it.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom