I recently acquired some new birds to our flock, and I'm skeptical of the age. There are a couple extenuating factors, one being that I don't believe they had free fed and free water as they grew, and the conditions they were kept in. I don't really want to get to descriptive because the people who had them were very nice and had some bad circumstances fall upon them and nothing was done out of malice, etc.
They, as of these pictures today, are supposed to be around 22 weeks. Some of them are so tiny I had to move them into a coop that came with the chickens (I wasn't planning to use it in it's condition so I know it needs some sprucing up) because my chickens were abusing them so badly ( I thought they were going to get killed) they actually DUG A HOLE under the coop and hid. They were muddy when they arrived and they made them a bit dirtier, but even 'bathing' them hasn't seemed to remove some of the dirt so any advice would be appreciated!
I really appreciate any help or even advice as to how best to assimilate and get these girls (oh please be girls) up to weight. All of them are bright eyed, the droppings are good, they are mite free, and 'most' of the time their crops are very full. But not all of the time and sometimes they don't seem to eat at all, but sit on their (new to them) roosts all day.
The black chickens in the picture with them are in the 18-20 week range. Those are Langshan 'mutts'.
First is what we 'think' is a Yokohama.
Next is what we think is a Silkie, with her friend....possibly Auracana? She has tufts coming in on the cheeks.
Bigger picture of Silkie
Picture of all of them:
For size reference, them next to the 1 gallon waterer:
Do you like my emergency Christmas Cookie Tin feeder? LOL I'm pretty sure their other girlfriend is a buff orpington and she's a normal size so I'm not as concerned about her.
Here's Petey the Langshan mutt for a size reference. He's a boy. This is a five gallon waterer.
Here is one of my unknowns next to the same waterer. Better picture to follow but this was for size. She is older than the langshans by possibly four weeks. Also starting to get tufts in the cheeks. I apologize in advance for my sub-par pics. They are friendly but the camera really scared them. She's in the "general population" because while she's being picked on for size, she's holding her own in speed.
And again:
And Again:
Here's Petey again with his brother for size reference. We normally keep a few waterers on all these blocks, they were being cleaned. The Langshans look like chicken-sauruses next to these birds.
His golden friend with the tufted cheeks:
And again:
And a picture of them near the other birds for some better reference.
Ok, my questions really are not only what breeds they are, but do they look undersized for those breeds, as they do to me? Could they be bantams and how would one tell?
Will the silkie or yokohama get any larger?
If it's a nutritional thing, is there a supplement I can give to them?
Also, not one of the new birds is laying yet that I can tell. There were also two sexlink/production reds that look very close to our other production girls until you look at the bright neon yellow feet. They were assimilated instantly with no issues so it's difficult to say if they are not laying.
We're rooster heavy now as the langshans grow out and we see who is who, so to speak. They do not fight amongst themselves but could that possibly be part of the territorial issues?
I really appreciate anyone reading this book of a thread and their opinions. Thanks.
They, as of these pictures today, are supposed to be around 22 weeks. Some of them are so tiny I had to move them into a coop that came with the chickens (I wasn't planning to use it in it's condition so I know it needs some sprucing up) because my chickens were abusing them so badly ( I thought they were going to get killed) they actually DUG A HOLE under the coop and hid. They were muddy when they arrived and they made them a bit dirtier, but even 'bathing' them hasn't seemed to remove some of the dirt so any advice would be appreciated!
I really appreciate any help or even advice as to how best to assimilate and get these girls (oh please be girls) up to weight. All of them are bright eyed, the droppings are good, they are mite free, and 'most' of the time their crops are very full. But not all of the time and sometimes they don't seem to eat at all, but sit on their (new to them) roosts all day.
The black chickens in the picture with them are in the 18-20 week range. Those are Langshan 'mutts'.
First is what we 'think' is a Yokohama.
Next is what we think is a Silkie, with her friend....possibly Auracana? She has tufts coming in on the cheeks.
Bigger picture of Silkie
Picture of all of them:
For size reference, them next to the 1 gallon waterer:
Do you like my emergency Christmas Cookie Tin feeder? LOL I'm pretty sure their other girlfriend is a buff orpington and she's a normal size so I'm not as concerned about her.
Here's Petey the Langshan mutt for a size reference. He's a boy. This is a five gallon waterer.
Here is one of my unknowns next to the same waterer. Better picture to follow but this was for size. She is older than the langshans by possibly four weeks. Also starting to get tufts in the cheeks. I apologize in advance for my sub-par pics. They are friendly but the camera really scared them. She's in the "general population" because while she's being picked on for size, she's holding her own in speed.
And again:
And Again:
Here's Petey again with his brother for size reference. We normally keep a few waterers on all these blocks, they were being cleaned. The Langshans look like chicken-sauruses next to these birds.
His golden friend with the tufted cheeks:
And again:
And a picture of them near the other birds for some better reference.
Ok, my questions really are not only what breeds they are, but do they look undersized for those breeds, as they do to me? Could they be bantams and how would one tell?
Will the silkie or yokohama get any larger?
If it's a nutritional thing, is there a supplement I can give to them?
Also, not one of the new birds is laying yet that I can tell. There were also two sexlink/production reds that look very close to our other production girls until you look at the bright neon yellow feet. They were assimilated instantly with no issues so it's difficult to say if they are not laying.
We're rooster heavy now as the langshans grow out and we see who is who, so to speak. They do not fight amongst themselves but could that possibly be part of the territorial issues?
I really appreciate anyone reading this book of a thread and their opinions. Thanks.
