Okay, I know I should already know this, but I don't so I'm asking. I recently read a topic about how the chicks won't get their adult plummage until about five months. I have nine chicks at 7weeks old who seem to be feathered out. I had thought that was it. Now I am wondering. Are they going to refeather with Adult plummage at around five months, and does the coloring change again-ie. newborn to first feather color, then first feather color to new adult color-?
I don't know of any breeds who really have a significant color change. In the case of my orpingtons, they got slightly darker. A rooster, of course, will get his hackle feathers and nice long tail feathers. My black australorps didn't get that nice, shiny green sheen they are supposed to have until the adult feathers came in. I guess I'm saying, it isn't so much of a color *change* as much as just getting a little brighter and nicer looking.
Melysa, The babies will lose various feathers for the next weeks. They do not do a full molt at one time, like older birds. The pen will have tail feathers from the youngsters, then some wing feathers and other small feathers as they drop the baby feathers and grow new ones., a gradual replacement. At a Poultry Show, with pullets and cockerels, the judge will spread the wings and easily see if there are a few juvenile feathers or some adult feathers that are not fully grown in. CJR
Baby chicks go through a series of feather molts. They molt as they grow. The best birds to see the different molts in are the black breasted reds (normal junglefowl wild-type pattern) like Light Brown Leghorns. Both sexes look pretty much the same in their first chick feathers and males will start to look a little different in the next set of juvenile feathers, but will not get their hackle feathers and adult color until they start to lose their juvenile feathers. Leghorns mature faster than most breeds and you will start to see the sexual dimorphic feathers at around 7 to 8 weeks in some males. I have a line of Black Australorps where the hackle feathers don't come in until over 15 weeks of age. When we cage the females at 18 weeks some of the males still don't have their full hackle feathers.
Secondly, I had also thought it was okay to go ahead and put the chicks into the coop/1 acre pen with the rest of my grown chickens because of their age. Mother hens as far as I know stop taking care of babies around six weeks. They are getting along very well with the grown chickens, but because of my first question I am now wondering about that. Should I have waited to put them out until they have their adult plummage?
By Susie (Susied) on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 07:46 am:
I wouldn't worry about having mixed them with the older ones as long as everybody is getting along. Just keep an eye on the babies and make sure they aren't being picked on. I merged my current 8 mos. olds when they were about 7-8 weeks and mixed them up with the older flock. They did just fine after getting acquainted through fencing for a couple of weeks. Sounds like yours are doing okay.
Susie
By Cjeanr on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 12:29 pm:
By Rokimoto on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 07:42 pm: