Should I be worried???

[MSC2020]

This chick will be 8 weeks old this weekend. She has always been the runt of the 16 that hatched. She is much smaller than the others, and has never seemed to grow new feathers. I have watched her quite a bit. She eats and drinks well and no one appears to picking on her or pecking at her. However, you can see she has no real feathers on her back and wings. I thought it could be some kind of parasite, but she has always looked like this and all of the other chicks are fully and beautifully feathered. Should I be worried? What could this be and what can I do to help?

 

[JadeFarms]

She looks like she’s at her ugly stage. Some get it worse that others. In a couple weeks she should look way better.

 

[cavemanrich]

Worrying will not do any good. If it is a genetic defect, it will not affect your other chickens,. Remember that all living things including chickens can be born less than perfect. I would just enjoy having a one of a kind chicken..

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and,

 

[MSC2020]

Thank you both for your replies! I just wanted to be sure that we are doing everything we could for her to keep her healthy. She’s a spunky little thing (at least we think she’s a she) and I’m okay if she looks less than perfect as long as she is healthy and happy.

 

[MarkJr]

Positive note..... you’d place high in the yearly molt picture contest!

 

[Ryguy3684]

I had one this spring that looked like a porcupine from 3 weeks until 10-12 weeks. Now, she's the heaviest, fluffiest bird I have. If she's eating, drinking, and acting normally, I wouldnt worry much. She'll grow out of it. A lot of people here call it the dinosaur stage