chicks not growing/feathering out like others..normal??

[wifeofyoyopro]

I had only one chick hatch on Dec. 23rd. So one week later (Dec. 30th), I bought 3 more to keep her company. Don't know the exact age of chicks because breeder had several different ages in the same box. But they are a least, 4 to 6 weeks old.

My chick and one of the ones I bought are almost fully feathered and getting quite large. But the other 2 chicks I bought, are still very tiny and only have their wing feathers. Is this normal?

 

[wifeofyoyopro]

Here is a pic of chicks. The white one is mine (5 week, Leghorn/EE mix) and the other 3 are BR.
Why is one growing just fine while other 2 don't seem to be growing at all?

 

[Cass]

I had a similiar thing happen with Mallard ducks I bought from Farm Store. A very knowledgable employee there told me that sometimes birds get spinal injuries during shipping or from being jumped on by brood mates and do not mature. She indicated that the bird in question might have a "growth spirt", but she gave no indication that the bird would fully mature. My ducky died at 6 weeks of age. It did have a growth spirt, but never got all it's feathers and never made it to the pond. Sigh.

 

[magicpigeon]

It can be a number of factors; growth speed of the breed being one. For example, a quickly growing bird such as an australorp could be put outside by four weeks, while a silkie could take double the time. Your birds could also just be weaklings that don't thrive...this is common and I find at least one in every hatch I do. However what Cass said is true too; it really depends on the bird

 

[Tala]

Is it possible that the breeder raised bantams? The size difference is a LOT! Oftentimes roosters feather out slower, but generally they keep up with average body size.
You might want to put in a second feeder, to keep the bigger ones from totally monopolizing one and keeping the little guys from getting enough food.