Jersey Giant question

[Emrosenagel]

Hello!

I got four Jersey giant chicks four weeks ago, and I have a question for anyone familiar with the breed. I’ve noticed, compared to the other chicks I’ve raised, these girls look rough feather-wise. It’s like their bodies are growing too fast for their feathers? One in particular is a very slow feather-grower. Is this normal? They act 100% fine otherwise, very energetic.

Thanks!

 

[Emrosenagel]

They are four weeks old btw

 

[nuthatched]

Looks fairly normal to me

 

[NatJ]

Hello!

I got four Jersey giant chicks four weeks ago, and I have a question for anyone familiar with the breed. I’ve noticed, compared to the other chicks I’ve raised, these girls look rough feather-wise. It’s like their bodies are growing too fast for their feathers? One in particular is a very slow feather-grower. Is this normal? They act 100% fine otherwise, very energetic.

Thanks!

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There is a gene called "Slow Feathering." Some chicken breeds have it, some do not. It causes exactly what you are seeing: chicks grow their feathers much more slowly than other chicks.

Chicks that grow feathers slowly will tend to need supplemental heat for a bit longer than chicks that grow feathers quickly, but otherwise they are just like any other chicks.

Yes, the slow feathering is probably normal for that breed.

When they grow up, if you decide to hatch chicks, the chicks can inherit the slow feathering gene. So don't be surprised if that happens

 

[Logar]

One in particular is a very slow feather-grower

I have one that is 4 weeks old and is much less feathered than most of yours and about the same as the first. I wouldn’t worry about it

 

[BastyPutt]

The most common reason for slow feathering in otherwise healthy chicks is because they are a cockerel. Pullets will feather faster.

 

[NatJ]

The most common reason for slow feathering in otherwise healthy chicks is because they are a cockerel. Pullets will feather faster.

In chicks from a certain kind of sex-linked mating, yes that is true. The females will have the fast feathering gene, and the males will have the slow feathering gene, so they can be sexed by feathering speed.

When an entire breed has the slow-feathering gene, both males and females will feather slower than either males or females of fast-feathering breeds.

Among fast-feathering chicks, I have not noticed a difference between the feathering speed of males and females. I do not know for sure if slow-feathering females grow their feathers at a different speed than slow-feathering males.