Tail Feathers and other questions

[Pellers]

I have bought chicks from a hatchery and hatched my own in the past, at different times. This is the first year I hatched my own and got some selected breeds from a hatchery. My hatchery chicks seem to be developing feathers (tail especially) more quickly than the ones we hatched (easter Eggers from mostly a lavender orp roo and various hens). Curious if this is just because hatcheries are breeding for maturity speed (especially with the dual purpose birds) or if perhaps our hatch of 10 chicks are all roosters which seems unlikely. Any advice or info to take into account? All chicks should be around the same age, within 2 days of each other and the ones I hatched are now 10 days old.

 

[nuthatched]

Chickens, like people, are individuals. they can grow and mature at different rates.

 

[Pellers]

That was my thought. A friend who took 3 hatchlings was concerned and I told them that it is probably very breed/chicken specific.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Comparing the growth rate of different breeds is like comparing the growth of a lemon to an orange. Sure they are both citrus fruit, but completely different types. Then you have individual lines within each type that are completely different. For example, the larger Naval oranges originated in Brazil while the much smaller clementine oranges originated across Vietnam, southern china and Japan. Now bring it back to a chicken example, Orpingtons from English lines are much larger than the American Orpington lines which are noticeably smaller.