Hey folks, We got our MM order on April 7th. 32 Wyandottes, Delawares, EEs, Sussex, Orpies, Australorps and Barred Rocks. All but two of this group have enough feathers that they have full wings and are starting to fly around. Two, probably black 'lorps but maybe rocks (can't tell the chickies apart), have little stubby wings with just 1/2" of primary flight feathers coming in. We have three of each breed, and one of the three has full wings. Do 'lorps or rocks develop more slowly than other breeds? Are these little ladies just failing to thrive? They seem to eat enough, poop normally, and run around like crazies even though they can't join in the flying fun. Thanks!
I have 28 chicks of different breeds and their wings are all coming in differently if they seen normal otherwise I wouldn't worry
My lorps started feathering quick as did my NHR...my light brahma is still major fuzzy...the others are in between. If she is acting fine, eating and drinking fine I would not worry. They do mature at different rates.
I have 2 Black Australorps, 2 RIRs, 2 White Leghorns, 2 Ameracaunas, and 1 White Rock, all around 4 weeks old. The Australorps and the White Rock are the slowest to grow feathers in by far. The least feathered chick I have is the Australorp that I suspect to be a male, followed by the suspected male White Rock. My Leghorns and Ameracaunas are the most feathery...maybe the heavier breeds mature a little more slowly?
Mine seemed to feather differently too. My roosters were much slower than the rest. My thinking is that it is because my roosters were growing more quickly then the rest.
Oh, I hope that they're not roosters! I know that there's a chance that my sexed pullets were sexed wrong, but it would really stink if it just happened to be all of my barred rocks. Sigh. Thanks for the advice, eveyone!
Mine are a week old. My light brahma pullets are the largest, the darks are the next largest, and the buffs are the smallest. All appear healthy, so I'm not worried about the littler ones lagging. I'm sure they'll catch up. My two (marked) roos are amongst the smallest chicks.
I have 12 RIR's that are 4 weeks old. One of them has always been smaller and feathered much slower. He is doing just fine and actually tries to be the boss most of the time! If the two you are asking about act just fine, I wouldn't worry to much about it. Maybe chicks are like people in that way. We all have developed differently over time!