Strange and almost naked hatchling

[CDcluck]

Had 10 chicks hatch last week, all Easter Eggers. Have 4 mostly black, 2 mostly yellow, 2 yellow and gray, 1 chipmunk, and one that doesn't have enough down to call any color. We are calling 'him' Jim for now. Jim's down is so short and so sparse that he looks just about naked all over, and has since hatching. The down has thickened very slightly since then, but I can still see his skin easily all over. They all have started wing (and even a few tail) feathers, Jim's wing feathers started at the same time, but are smaller, shorter, and finer. He is about the same height/weight/activity level as the others, but resembles a baby dinosaur instead of a puffball like his siblings.

His egg and incubation were the same as the others, and he hatched in the middle of the group. The down does not look like the pictures of clubbed down I have found online, he doesn't have even that much covering. I will post a pic if I can. Has anyone heard of this?

 

[CDcluck]

This is Jim and some others at age 2 days. He looks quite pathetic, but never knew it.

 

[CDcluck]

Here's Jim at day 7






And chick number 2 (Bella) at day 7 for comparison. Don't know why this picture is bigger than the other. Oh, internet.

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

I don't know...
I did get a barred rock that was about 3-4 weeks that had the same kind of issue... She had bald spots here and there... She ended up getting in all of her feathers and fluff in a month or 2.

Good luck!

 

[CDcluck]

Thanks for the reassurance. He(she) is getting a very short down coat now, and tiny wing feathers. The vulture/velociraptor look is just so odd. I wonder if this is a genetic mutation, an incubation issue, or something else. The others all have normal down, and some are getting feathers very fast. At 9 days, some have all regular feathers on the wings, and some back and tail feathers.

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Sorry these aren't great pics but my bald baby is the one on the right



And in this one you can see her naked spots (she is on the left)


Her neck, back, and the back of her wings were naked for a long time
I thought it might have been the roos, but she stayed like that even with out them.
Now she is full

Can't tell that she was the ugly duckling anymore!!

Keep me updated!

 

[flood]

We picked out a straight-run chick at the farm store that looked about like Jim. When he got his first feathers he had about 12! He turned into a male australorp and it took 7 mos or so to feather out. He wound up with no tail but was beautiful! So, don't freak if he sheds his down and runs around in the buff awhile!
I think It must be hereditary. We have three of that australorp's chicks. I don't know how old they are now but they are still sorta small and one can fly up to my shoulder to land. She is so full of feathers she looks like her mama all fluffed up. Daddy was black/mom red. She is black and red penciled. I think it is a she because of the broadness of her back. The other two are patchy and of a different color marking than the first. They are black and cream? and their penciling is different. One is worse than the other, missing feathers and no tail, and one just has no tail but was patchy for awhile. Maybe it is not a gene/trait to continue? I am thinking because of the narrowness of the patchy chicks they are male. Maybe it is a trait passed to males?

 

[CDcluck]

So Jim is starting to blend in a bit with the others at 4 weeks. He (she?) is growing regular feathers, but is still bald in the areas that are not covered. Now I just need to find out if he really is a 'he'.

 

[CDcluck]

Jim now has normal feathering, except HER tail is sideways. Oh, chickens!

 

[BackyardFarmMom]