Bantam or full sized?

[LE808]

Hi I recently bought 2 buff sussex chickens from a breeder. They are lovely girls but I had them weighed by the vet the other day and they are both roughly 1kg. I was told they were at point of lay but 2 weeks down the line no eggs. The smaller of the 2 is also moulting at the moment which makes me think they are a lot younger than I first thought. Can someone please give me there opinion if these are likely to get bigger or if I have in fact been sold bantams. I was told they were full sized but not sure, thank you.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Could you take some photos? That will help me decide how old they are, and see if they are large fowl or bantam.

 

[LE808]

 

[LE808]

This is a picture of the both of them, the picture above it of the smaller of the two.

 

[BantamLover21]

This is a picture of the both of them, the picture above it of the smaller of the two.

They both appear to be large-fowl. One is probably just maturing slower than the other. Its difficult to tell the age, but if I had to guess, I would say that they are 3-5 months of age. You should start getting eggs in less than a month, if I am correct. Neither one appears really close to laying ,as their combs and wattles are not yet fully developed.

 

[lilypad]

Hi there!

Breeders usually exaggerate when selling chickens at POL, they are often a good few weeks off laying. Their combs will get much bigger and redder when they are about to start laying (and most will also stoop when you lean over/go to stroke them), and they will likely grow much more in size over the next few weeks

 

[Wyandottes7]

Your birds are large fowl. I don't think you'll be getting eggs for at least another two weeks or so. The combs are not all that red yet. Have they started "squatting" (crouching down when you walk towards them or pet them). This would be a sign that they will be laying soon.

 

[LE808]

Yes they are but I thought they just didn't like being petted! Lol, thank you for your help.

 

[Kev]

your suspicion is correct- they are much younger than claimed(comment about exaggerations in selling is very true). Good news, both are girls for sure but bad news, best not expect any eggs for several weeks.. just think of this period as them growing and filling out into their new home?

 

[donrae]

I'm conflicted.

Anyone else notice the two different colored legs?

The bird in the first pic looked to be male to me, with the darker shading on the wing bow. Can't tell the second bird at all. But a cockerel that size, I'd sure expect to see a lot more comb and some sex feathers.

If they are female (& I hope they are), I agree with Kev they're a long way from laying. They need to develop some combs first.