My wife, the animal expert, says that chickens don't have runts. Well, we got a dozen Whiting True Blue and they are 14 weeks old. One of them is half the size of all her sisters. Is this normal? Is she a bantam? Does that happen sometimes?
We might be a little bigger than the average-sized flock, but we live in a rural community and have designated 1500 sq ft for our coop/run, all enclosed. And if we need to, we can make it bigger. With that size, we believe we can handle 150 chickens, and the question becomes how best to manage...
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
We first got chickens in 2011. We had to take a 12-year break and got chickens again in the middle of last year.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
40 hens, 1 rooster
(3) What breeds do you have?
Black Australorp...