I'm a little concerned about her with winter just around the corner. I worry that she won't be warm enough and won't make it to Spring. Poor little thing. We had named her Penny, but she's so small and about 1/2 the size of the other chicks, we now call her ha' penny.
So, all you chicken lovers out there, what do you think? Is she just a runt or is something wrong that I don't know about yet? Anything I should be checking for?
This post was shared as part of the Homestead Barn Hop hosted at The Prairie Homestead.
No help here but I'm hoping someone can offer some advice. She "looks" okay from your pictures.
ReplyDeleteAny of ours that were smaller than the others usually had a reason, either it was ill or a cross beak. Even though they would appear to eat, eventually they were just so much smaller we ended up culling them. She does look healthy though.
ReplyDeleteI'm no expert here, but if you have checked her over and she has no physical issues - my advise is to let her be. If she seems healthy, pecking, scratching, roosting - you're checking all the right stuff - she will be o.k. and keep warm under the others. Blessings from WI
ReplyDeleteI have no idea but are your chickens somehow cross breed? There are bantam versions of most chickens so maybe a bantam gene is just coming through. We have one smaller chicken and she does just fine. Typically the smaller ones are faster and the other hens can't peck them.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea...just getting into chickens myself. Look forward to reading what others are saying about Penny.
ReplyDeleteConnie
www.treasures-evermore.blogspot.com
FYI: I cannot seem to get logged in to your comment section...so am commenting as anonymous.
I think that there may be some genes in the Rhodies that can make a few smaller in size than others, even if there's no bantams in their pedigree. My Rhode Island Red is as healthy as a horse, but she grew up smaller and leaner than my other chickens, which are all similarly sized to the typical Rhode Island. My Rhodie eats like a horse and doesn't appear to have any worms or diseases. She's just small. Lays whopper eggs, though.
ReplyDeleteA similar thing happened to one of my White Rock chickens. They all looked the same for a long time and then I noticed one stopped growing. We ended up calling her Midge (for midget). She seemed healthy at first but would get pecked on my the other chickens and then one day we saw one of the Turkeys holding her down and really pecking her. I brought her in for a few days to recoop, kicked the turkeys out of the chick coop and then reintroduced her. About a week later she died. Not sure why. Her feathers never grew in like the others so I think she had a hard time keeping warm. I hope yours does well :)
ReplyDeleteI had flocks of chickens as a child. We had mostly bantams in those days and raised many chicks. We once had a small white chicken that we named 'Whitey'. The little thing clucked and crowed like a rooster but was tiny and about half the size of the rest of the flock. We always thought that Whitey was neither hen nor rooster and possibly an albino. Whitey lived for years and we got such a kick out of him (her?)!
ReplyDeleteThis happened to us this year. We just let her be and now, at about 6 mo. old she is the same size as the others. I don't know if she is laying yet or not though.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen this before either. She seems to eat well? Perhaps she will catch up as time passes along as Spence Mom said.
ReplyDeleteWe have a half-RIR that we call "Minnie." Her papa was a 15# colored broiler, and most of the offspring were larger than the mother's breed. Minnie was a runt in the brooder and grew much slower than the others. She's always seemed healthy so I figure it was just one of those things. Among other hens, Minnie has been kind of a loner since her flockmates left and the older hens will pick on her, chase her away from treats, etc. She's sweet and very docile, and lays a small egg that's just about banty-size.
ReplyDelete