Anyone know?

[kamrynwade]

This is my white Plymouth it was a little bigger than the rest when I picked it out. My friend got a few of the other ones. Same breed and age but mine seems to be wayyyyy bigger than hers and my other chicks. Does anyone know why that is?

 

[azygous]

He's probably a full week older than your others. Yes, he appears to be a boy.

 

[kamrynwade]

Here's one that he's supposed to be the same age and breed as. This photo was taken Saturday but he was still wayyyyyyy bigger then too. This is why I'm surprised and confused especially since he's so big with few pin feathers and such present. My other chickens that are about a week or two older are still a lot smaller. Is it because he's a roo?

 

[azygous]

It's not certain the big lummox is a cockerel, but yes, his relative size may be one predictor. Look at his budding comb and wattles. It's highly unusual for a pullet to develop those at such a young age, while cockerels wattles do tend to emerge early on. How do his feet and legs appear? Are they thicker and longer relative to the others? They appear so to me. If he starts crowing soon, you'll know for sure. I recently had a cockerel who crowed at six weeks.

In judging the age of chicks you aren't certain of, compare their size to ones that you are certain of. If you got your chicks when they were just days old, you can expect a chick who is one week older to be around double the size, and each week thereafter, doubling in size again. You have the chicks in the flesh while we just have two-dimensional photos. You can better assess the age by measuring this little "godzilla". I maintain the reason he's so much larger is due to him being older. He's still a little cutie, though.

 

[kamrynwade]

I mean I'd think that too!! Except I know for a fact the others are older! I got them first and they were at least a week older. Heres a picture when I first got him! The brown one is older.

 

[Brookliner]

Any chance he is a meat bird that got in the wrong order.

 

[keesmom]

Where did you get them? I am also wondering if it's a Cornish X.

 

[kamrynwade]

I got it from hay and feed I'm not really sure. They normally sale what they say though!

 

[azygous]

Where did you get them? I am also wondering if it's a Cornish X.

Now that hadn't even occurred to me! But it sure makes sense, given all the facts. And he certainly fits the image of a CornishX.

You'll know this is what you have when he reaches full size at six weeks while the others are a third the size. Also, he's going to have trouble walking before too long, given his ponderous size. These chickens need to be butchered before they suffer from heart attacks and broken legs. I won't get into the morality of breeding this chicken.

 

[junebuggena]

Given the dramatic size difference, it's probably a Cornish Cross. For most breeds, males and females are about the same size for the first 6 to 8 weeks. Then the males start to get noticeably larger.