Weird wing growth on Orpington chick?

[Thorn_shrike]

I got a couple Buff Orpington chicks from the feed store a week or so ago. They were supposed to be English Orpingtons but after the employee dumped them in the box he let me know that they were running low on the English and dumped American in there too . Anyway, I have a couple of questions! First, do American and English Orpington chicks look different? I know adults have different proportions and body shape. Second, both of them have weird wing stuff going on. The first one is smaller, rounder, no tail growth at all and its wings look super tiny (to me anyway). The second is a little bigger, has a tail, has much larger wings BUT it always has them held out weirdly. It’s healthy, eating and drinking fine, poop is normal, it’s active and social so it’s not the typical wings held out and drooping from being sickly. It’s done this since we first got them over a week ago. I don’t know how old they are, but they should have been the same age at the feed store. First few pics are little wings and last few are big wings lol. Any ideas?

 

[nuthatched]

You're not going to get quality English orps from the feed store, so they're likely to all look the same. Chicks grow at different rates, like people.

 

[Thorn_shrike]

You're not going to get quality English orps from the feed store, so they're likely to all look the same. Chicks grow at different rates, like people.

Oh I know, i just kind of wanted to know out of curiosity if there was a difference in appearance as chicks. Thought I would ask here at the same time I asked about their wings.

 

[nuthatched]

Oh I know, i just kind of wanted to know out of curiosity if there was a difference in appearance as chicks. Thought I would ask here at the same time I asked about their wings.

Best we could do is guess and we'd be 50% correct

 

[Thorn_shrike]

Best we could do is guess and we'd be 50% correct

lol pretty much! I was asking about appearance just out of curiosity. Mostly I was concerned about the wing issues both have. The first one looking like its wings are abnormally small and the second always holding its wings out away from its body. It’s not too hot and doesn’t appear to be sick at all so maybe it’s just a quirk?

 

[NatJ]

lol pretty much! I was asking about appearance just out of curiosity. Mostly I was concerned about the wing issues both have. The first one looking like its wings are abnormally small

Some chickens grow their feathers much slower than others. Those wings look normal for slow-feathering chicks.

and the second always holding its wings out away from its body. It’s not too hot and doesn’t appear to be sick at all so maybe it’s just a quirk?

I am not quite sure on this one, but yes it might be just a quirk.

Chickens will hold their wings out when they are hot (to let air flow underneath), and they will hold their wings out when they are cold (trapping more air to keep themselves warm: they hold the wings "out" but a little differently than in hot weather.)

Does the chick have access to both warm and cool temperatures? If so, do you notice it holding the wings differently at some temperatures than others?

 

[Thorn_shrike]

Some chickens grow their feathers much slower than others. Those wings look normal for slow-feathering chicks.


I am not quite sure on this one, but yes it might be just a quirk.

Chickens will hold their wings out when they are hot (to let air flow underneath), and they will hold their wings out when they are cold (trapping more air to keep themselves warm: they hold the wings "out" but a little differently than in hot weather.)

Does the chick have access to both warm and cool temperatures? If so, do you notice it holding the wings differently at some temperatures than others?

Yes! The heat lamp is on one side and the brooder is big enough that the chicks have plenty of space to choose between warm and cool. I haven’t noticed any difference, it always has them held like that, even if it gets startled it doesn’t flatten them up against its body

 

[NatJ]

Yes! The heat lamp is on one side and the brooder is big enough that the chicks have plenty of space to choose between warm and cool. I haven’t noticed any difference, it always has them held like that, even if it gets startled it doesn’t flatten them up against its body

That is interesting. Maybe it is just a quirk

I have seen plenty of times that one chick does things differently, and I wonder if it is a problem or not, but most of them grow up just fine. So hopefully yours will also grow up with no problems

 

[Molly77]

I have a 2-week-old chick that is the lone survivor of a mass death event from being in transit for too long. Now it's with a 6 chick flock of 1-week-old chicks from Agway. All are buff orps. 2 week survivor chick is the same size as week old chicks (I attribute this to its spending a week just trying desperately to stay alive) but it also has very small vestigial-looking wings compared to the Agway chicks, who have large feathered wings that look like they are actually meant for flying. I'm guessing the different hatcheries are making buffs of different qualities?

Has your chick with the small wings caught up in wing size and feathering, or are they still smaller?

 

[Thorn_shrike]

I have a 2-week-old chick that is the lone survivor of a mass death event from being in transit for too long. Now it's with a 6 chick flock of 1-week-old chicks from Agway. All are buff orps. 2 week survivor chick is the same size as week old chicks (I attribute this to its spending a week just trying desperately to stay alive) but it also has very small vestigial-looking wings compared to the Agway chicks, who have large feathered wings that look like they are actually meant for flying. I'm guessing the different hatcheries are making buffs of different qualities?

Has your chick with the small wings caught up in wing size and feathering, or are they still smaller?

mine ended up not being buff orpingtons at all lol. I’m pretty sure they are chanteclers. But yes both have feathered out nicely (they’re around 9 weeks now). The one that looked like it held its wings out weird is veerrrrrrrryyy loosely feathered compared to the other, and both are much more loosely feathered than my Delawares of the same age. I think it was the extra loose feathering that made her wings look abnormal at the time. As for the second looking to have super tiny wings idk she caught up just fine, just slow to feather out at the time I guess!