A runt chicken

[Bawkinghen]

Meet Buff. She's supposedly a Buff Orpington, but after posting a pic of her a while back next to my other buff Orpington, I'm pretty sure she is mixed with something other than that. But besides her yellow feet that make her not likely a buff Orpington, I'm now getting really concerned about her growth. As you can see, at 18 weeks, she is still very small and has little to no comb or wattles. Her legs are so short that she looks like part duck. My question is this...if she had growth restriction, will that also keep her from ever laying? Is it normal for some birds to mature REALLY slowly? You can see that her head does not even come as high as the chicken's tail feathers in front of her. And that chicken is the same age.

 

[five is my dog]

when and where did you get her from? how old was she when you got her?

 

[Bawkinghen]

I got her as a brand new chick ( a few days old, I guess) from Family Farm and Home the first week of March. She looked exactly like the other BO that I got the same day. The other one is much bigger now and looks quite different. And for what it's worth, what she lacks in size, she makes up for in feistiness. She holds her own among the 11 other hens and I think ranks pretty high in the pecking order too.

 

[dandrews1971]

Shes not a full Buff Orp. BO's have a solid coloring. SHe looks almost 2-tone. Id say shes likely a buff orp/ white rock cross?
or maybe x'd with a production red. Pretty hen though.