Strange wing growth 1 week old

bridgetcanfly

In the Brooder
Sep 20, 2016
14
1
12
Hervey Bay
Hi there, just wondering if anyone knows whether this is abnormal for a 1 week old Pekin chicks new feathering. The other hatch mates have no issues and their wing feathering seems to be coming in fine, there are no frizzle parents birds but being Pekins there could be some throwback genetics in them.
Anything to worry about?
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Looks normal to me, too. Are you comparing her to other chicks? What exactly about her wing feathers has you concerned? Is it the length? Is it that the feathers don't lie flat against her body? Is there something you've noticed that we're not able to see in the photos?

Is this chick from an order of pullets only or did you order straight run? How many other chicks are there?
 
I'm just trying to learn as I go and I have found with raising chicks that if you ignore abnormalities when they're young you end up with problems down the track (for example spraddle leg, overgrown beak) so I turn to the awesome chicken community. If you answer questions like that chicknanny you may just inadvertantly scare a young novice away from asking questions which is never a good thing. There's no wrong questions, only wrong answers :p

The wing feathers don't lie flat against it's body like the rest of the chicks, the flight feathers seem to grow so they're fanning out slightly to either side but it's hard to see as it's very hard to get photos of these little fluff balls.

I didn't order them I hatched them myself so they're unsexed, it may be a distingushing feature for Pekin genders but I wouldn't know as this is the first time I've hatched Pekins.

I was just wondering if it's a gender thing, an abnormality or whether the little one just has to grow into it's new wings but it doesn't really matter now as a family friend has taken them all home but thanks for the replies, here's a photo of chickie side by side with another chick before they left just for reference, in case anyone knows (I'd still like to know for my next hatch, I'm enjoying learning as I go :))

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Wonder if it's something like 'angel wing' that ducks can have?
Will you still be in touch with the friend to see how it plays out long term?
Did you ever pull/fan out the wings to see if there was some bone malformation compared to the others?
 
I have had this happen to many a chick of many breeds. Sadly, customers always avoid them :( But they grow out of it. I don't know what causes the 'cowlick' of the feathers, but as they hit their 3-4 week feather growth you likely won't even know it ever looked funny! I've never had the strange growth persist past chickhood.
 
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I’ve never had Pekings (known as Cochin here in the States). I do not think it is a breed thing, I do not think it is a sex thing. Thanks for the comparison photo so we can see what you are talking about.

Different chicks, even of the same breed, feather out differently. There are genes that control how fast the feathers grow, for example. Some come in faster, some slower. I’m sure there are plenty of other genes that control how they grow in.

I don’t know if there is anything wrong with that chick or not. I’m in the group that would wait and see. It may turn out fine, it may not, but if I were breeding them, it probably would not make my laying/breeding flock. But that's just me.
 
Thanks for the replies, thats the kind of information I was hoping for. I'll contact our friend in time and see how they're doing but I now feel more confident that I won't hear bad news about that chickies wings :)
 

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