Is there something wrong with my BCM pullets feathers?

[Brb0891]

My BCM pullet is about 10.5 weeks old and her feathers look horrible. Is this normal? I have two and the one looks normal compared to her. I've never raised them before so i don't know if this is permanent or if she'll grow better adult feathers. She seems perfectly healthy otherwise. View attachment 4005650View attachment 4005652View attachment 4005653

She's also kind kind of bald around her eyes. More than what I think is normal I

guess. I just checked for mites and she doesn't have any. She's got casings around the rough tail feathers that are 1/2"-1" long so they're growing.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Check her at night, after she's gone to roost. But generally if one chicken has mites, they all do. If she were a lavender bird, I would think she looks like she has the shredded feather gene. I don't know if black chickens get it. Maybe @coach723 or @MysteryChicken would know?

I would say mite/lice, or a nutritional imbalance is the result of the messy feathers.
No Black feathers don't shred like lavender.

 

[Brb0891]

I would say mite/lice, or a nutritional imbalance is the result of the messy feathers.
No Black feathers don't shred

I would say mite/lice, or a nutritional imbalance is the result of the messy feathers.
No Black feathers don't shred like lavender.

She doesn't have lice/mites and the other nineteen pullets were raised together since they hatched. They don't have issues. The pullet came from a hatchery. If they put the black offspring from black and blue marans in with the black breeding stock, couldn't the gene be carried through to black offspring of one lavender/blue parent?

 

[MysteryChicken]

She doesn't have lice/mites and the other nineteen pullets were raised together since they hatched. They don't have issues. The pullet came from a hatchery. If they put the black offspring from black and blue marans in with the black breeding stock, couldn't the gene be carried through to black offspring of one lavender/blue parent?

Breeding lavender to black improves feathering of lavenders, not introduce shredding into blacks.

What's their diet?

 

[Brb0891]

Breeding lavender to black improves feathering of lavenders, not introduce shredding into blacks.

What's their diet?

They eat a mixture of 20% and 18% Purina and dumor starter/grower feed. I just started giving them meal worms a week ago as a treat once they started eating regular grit instead of a little chick grit in the feed. I use a 27lb feeder from premier1 so they have plenty of room at the feeder. She's about the same size or bigger than the rest, other than the delawares and bielefelder so she's eating fine.

 

[Brb0891]

Breeding lavender to black improves feathering of lavenders, not introduce shredding into blacks.

What's their diet?

Here's a adult black rooster with the same thing from reddit. No mites, lice, good protien diet according to the poster. The tail feathers look better though.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Here's a adult black rooster with the same thing from reddit. No mites, lice, good protien diet according to the poster. The tail feathers look better though.View attachment 4005772View attachment 4005773

What diet are your birds on? Please specify?
All the years I have been raising poultry, I've never had blacks with shredded feathers unless it was caused by a nutritional issue. Like lack of Omega 3-6 Fatty acids.

 

[Brb0891]

What diet are your birds on? Please specify?
All the years I have been raising poultry, I've never had blacks with shredded feathers unless it was caused by a nutritional issue. Like lack of Omega 3-6 they had

What diet are your birds on? Please specify?
All the years I have been raising poultry, I've never had blacks with shredded feathers unless it was caused by a nutritional issue. Like lack of Omega 3-6 Fatty acids.

They had medicated Purina chick starter for about four weeks then nonmedicated purina 50/50 with dumor 20% starter grower. Now it's about 1/4 Purina until I run out. They've never had any other food except about a week ago i started giving them a few meal worms with beetles or bsfl with grasshoppers from TSC. They drink a gallon of water a day and eat about 25lbs of feed a week between twenty of them. The others dont have the same issue.

 

[MysteryChicken]

They had medicated Purina chick starter for about four weeks then nonmedicated purina 50/50 with dumor 20% starter grower. Now it's about 1/4 Purina until I run out. They've never had any other food except about a week ago i started giving them a few meal worms with beetles or bsfl with grasshoppers from TSC. They drink a gallon of water a day and eat about 25lbs of feed a week between twenty of them. The others dont have the same issue.View attachment 4005796View attachment 4005794View attachment 4005795

I'd try a nutritional boost with her, I highly recommend Kick'n Chicken, it's sold at TSC, it's supplement you add to feed.

 

[Pumperkinz]

Are they from a specific hatchery? Or are these ones you have hatched out?

I had one BCM that I had issues with two years ago from Cackle Hatchery with a similar first year feather issue. Her first actual fall molt the feathers fixed themselves but she was our "ugly duckling" for the longest time. She is the healthiest/best bird of my older flock.

Good checking for mites as I was in the same boat w/ mine years ago panicked when it was just some really bad luck.