Baby silkies

[kmlnll]

A few weeks ago I got two baby silkies. They are the same age. One is still tiny and mostly fluff. The other one is covered in feathers and considerably bigger. The lil one ALWAYS has a poopy bum. I've been giving them chick feed and even some meal worms. I don't get why there is such a huge difference in development. It doesn't appear like the lil one is getting picked on. The lil one also doesn't really even have fluff on her bum. She also has extra toes. Any idea what's going on?

 

[Araucana16]

How many toes do each of them have?

And as for the poopy bum, it may be what's slowing development. It's possible that the lil one isn't eating as much because they can't poop. Make sure to frequently clean the bum, with a warm damp paper towel.

 

[kmlnll]

The bigger one has the 3 in front, one in back. The smaller one has 3 in front, two in back. Its weird. Lol. I only mention it because obviously it's a deformity and wondering if it's a sign of a bigger issue. I don't mind her being weird at all.

I've been cleaning her bum basically every day since I got her. Which I think was over a month ago... I've had chicks that had poopy bums for a few days to a week, but never this long.

 

[Araucana16]

Oh! I know what's wrong!

Your bigger one isn't a silkie. Silkies have five toes, other chickens have four. So you must have gotten a silkie, which is a bantam, or miniature chicken, and then a regular sized chicken.

It's concerning it's lasted so long. I'm not entirely sure on that. You should post in the illness/diseases/injuries forum.

 

[kmlnll]

Huh... Did not know that about the toes. Lol. They both have feathers all over their feet. Any idea what the bigger one is?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Post a picture of both birds - that will be helpful. There are many feather footed breeds.

 

[kmlnll]

 

[kmlnll]

That's the bigger one.

 

[kmlnll]

Here's the smaller one.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Yep - your larger bird is not a silkie - the "missing" toe, the feathering, the comb and the skin color (see how your silkie has black skin?) are key factors.
Looks like maybe you have a nice little cochin there.