Under developed 5 week old dark brahma chicks?

[145chuckens]

I have 3 dark brahma chicks. They are 5 weeks old and They are supposed to be cockerels. Anyway they only have a little bit of feathers on their wings and are just starting to get a little feathers on their body. They are taking so much longer to mature them any other chicks I've had including my brahma pullets when they were that age. Should I be worried? I had 5 come in the mail at first. One died a while ago and one died yesterday this one was because it escaped from the pen and was attacked. And also they are so mean! They fight all the time they are in a big pen with a lot of other chicks so it's not like they are the only ones in there but they are the only ones that fight like that. They fought like since they were a couple of days old. They even attack people! I don't think that I will be keeping them. And I want to sell them soon but I was hoping that they would be out of this basically feathers stage before I do. Anyway is all of this normal they don't get bullied away from the food. They are just so immature..and aggressive. Why?

 

[NatJ]

I have 3 dark brahma chicks. They are 5 weeks old and They are supposed to be cockerels. Anyway they only have a little bit of feathers on their wings and are just starting to get a little feathers on their body. They are taking so much longer to mature them any other chicks I've had including my brahma pullets when they were that age. Should I be worried?

If they act normal otherwise, then they are probably fine.
Some chickens do grow their feathers very slowly. There is a particular gene called "slow feathering," because it causes exactly that.

And also they are so mean! They fight all the time they are in a big pen with a lot of other chicks so it's not like they are the only ones in there but they are the only ones that fight like that. They fought like since they were a couple of days old.

Do they seem to be hurting each other? Or just ruffling feathers and jumping around? Because if they aren't hurting each other, then it's not a problem. Some chicks definitely do that more than others, but it's still not a problem as long as none get hurt.

They even attack people!

That is definitely not good.

I don't think that I will be keeping them. And I want to sell them soon but I was hoping that they would be out of this basically feathers stage before I do. Anyway is all of this normal they don't get bullied away from the food. They are just so immature..and aggressive. Why?

From your description (since there are no pictures), it sounds like they are probably normal chicks, and should grow their feathers eventually. They are just being slow about it.

If you don't like the traits they have (behavior and slow feathering), then it does make sense to sell or butcher them, rather than keeping them.

 

[145chuckens]

If they act normal otherwise, then they are probably fine.
Some chickens do grow their feathers very slowly. There is a particular gene called "slow feathering," because it causes exactly that.


Do they seem to be hurting each other? Or just ruffling feathers and jumping around? Because if they aren't hurting each other, then it's not a problem. Some chicks definitely do that more than others, but it's still not a problem as long as none get hurt.


That is definitely not good.


From your description (since there are no pictures), it sounds like they are probably normal chicks, and should grow their feathers eventually. They are just being slow about it.

If you don't like the traits they have (behavior and slow feathering), then it does make sense to sell or butcher them, rather than keeping them.

Thank you.
I will try to get pictures tomorrow.
They do seem to Mostar be just ( practice fighting ) not registered hurting each other but sometimes it gets pretty intense! I have to separate them because one will get hold of the others head and won't let go. They even attacked the other bigger chickens and the turkey chicks that are 4 times the size of them.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Yes, post pics will help to ID whether males or females. Attacking people is differently not good, as said above.