BO Chick: Runt or Roo?

[Poppy_the_Chicken]

Newbie here. I got four Buff Orpington chicks at the feed store (fresh from the hatchery) almost 3 weeks ago. Three of them have taken off in growth. The fourth (Baby Chick) has lagged way behind in size and feather development. In fact, Baby Chick is about half the weight of the other chucks. I've seen all kinds of posts on many sites concerning two possibilities: Either Baby Chick (BC) is a runt or a rooster...or even a runty rooster. Other than needing to spend more time under the heat lamp that the others, BC still runs around, eats, and poops as well as anyone. No problems with getting bullied either. Even when the other three get in a tiff over something like who gets to perch where, nobody ever bothers BC, and BC just tries to stay out of the way. I would love to get some feedback from anyone who has some experience with BO chicks on whether BC looks like a little hen or a roo. I've included some pictures showing BC's back and wings, since that may be relevant to sexing. I'm sure that in a few weeks it may start to get more apparent, but I figure that the sooner I figure it out the better, in case I need to return this little one to the feed store (free exchanges).

Below, you can see a side view of Baby Chick to show wings from the side and total lack of tale feathers, and overhead view with wings slightly open, and an overhead to show size next to another chick, as well as back markings.







Thanks much for any help....

 

[aknewlin]

I can't help you in deciding if it's a pullet or cockerel, but I can tell you my experience with a Buff Orpington runt.

We got three BO pullets (and three Easter Eggers) from Rural King last year. One BO was a little bit smaller than the other two, but after a few days of development, the difference in size became more and more apparent. She wasn't half the size of the others, but she was quite small compared to the other chicks.

While the runt was always smaller and about a week or two behind in size development, she was never weak or picked on. It acted just like all the other chicks and was healthy and active.

Here we are a year later, and she's still just a tiny bit smaller than the other hens, but just barely. She laid eggs about two weeks behind the others, but she's our sweetest and best hen.

 

[aknewlin]

I would like to add that we did order a rooster by mail this year, a Lavender Orpington, along with some LO pullets. It wasn't marked in the box, so we had to guess which one it was.

The whole time that they were developing, we were positive that the smallest was the rooster. The wing development that we read about looked like a rooster and the slightly smaller size said rooster.

At exactly four weeks of age, we found out that another of the LO was the rooster, because the comb and waddles just popped out red overnight. We had to rename the rooster, lol!

 

[Poppy_the_Chicken]

Thanks for your encouragement Aknewlin. Your experience is consistent with other stories I've read about runt pullets. So, I'm not too worried about BC's future if that is the issue. I'm mostly concerned about getting BC back to the feed store as soon as I can if she turns out to be a he. I'm already figuring that BC won't get to move out to the coop full-time until a couple of weeks after the other three: Nights still get quite chilly here in Norther CO.