Breed Standards for Buff Orpingtons

[Carolina Chicken Man]

Hey folks
I bought 10 BO chicks at 3 weeks old from a local farmer, who incubates hatchery eggs.
They are now 8 weeks old, and there is a pronounced difference in the size of the birds. There is a group of 3 or 4 that are the largest, some in the middle, and some obviously a lot smaller.

I thought perhaps they in fact hatched at different times, but the lady said no, they all hatched within a day.

Are the smaller birds the bad result of inline breeding that I learned about on this forum? I leanred about inline breeding when I previously posted a question regarding the fact that one turned out to be a cockeriel and if I decide to breed, would he be the brother or half brother to the pullets.


Anybody?

 

[Carolina Chicken Man]

Anybody have a thought?

 

[speckledhen]

I doubt the size diff has anything to do with linebreeding, which is perfectly acceptable. A day can make a big difference in the size of chicks, if you remember how much they grow day by day, but it could be the parents are not as well fed or genetically sound or just any reason for the smaller chicks. Even breeding brother to sister isnt a horrible thing if you eventually bring in new blood.

 

[hinkjc]

My initial thought was that the size difference is probably spelling out boys from girls, but I also think they are at an age where whoever gets the most food right now grows a bit faster. I believe they'll all catch up in the end and you have nothing to worry about. Do you have pics of them. That may be helpful to assess them better.

Jody