Classroom chicks...

[WilsonFarm]

Hi there! My daughter's 1st grade class hatched their own chicks. We happily took 4 of them because we've been wanting to raise chickens for a while now. They hatched Memorial Day weekend so as of right now, they're around 2 weeks old.

We recently purchased 4 more chicks, all 3 weeks old. They are different breeds (RI Reds and a Speckled Sussex.) I'm alarmed because our 'classroom chicks' whose breed we have no idea about, are SIGNIFICANTLY larger! All four of them! Now, in the class when all 13+ were together they were all the same size, so I'm hoping this is more a difference in breed standard than an 'OMG, you've got yourself 4 roosters there' dilemma.

(Yes, no worries. We DO have a plan for roosters should they happen to be male.)

Any thoughts on why the original 4 are so much bigger, yet a week younger? And about what breed they may be? Pictures attached! (The ones in question are the three blacks with yellow/white spots on head and the yellow one - who appears to be getting blackish spots.)

*Holy chicken poop! Yes - I changed their liner and refreshed water.

 

[stasichick]

Oh my! They look perfectly normal and healthy to me so at the end of the day thats all that matters!!!!! it appears that the smaller ones are just a few weeks younger... possibly where you got them from was mistake about their age? or possibly are the new ones bantams?

 

[WilsonFarm]

They're very sweet! The big ones are really comical.

I am new to chickens - so I don't know what constitutes a 'bantham,' but if it helps.. they seemed knowledgeable at the store when they told us the reds and chipmonk were 3 weeks old. They didn't use the name Bantham, just that they were RI Reds and a Speckled Sussex and what their demeanor is typically. They appear to have more feathers than our classroom chicks and are less downy, too.

Would the size of our classroom chicks possibly indicate that they might be roosters? I know they're so young it's difficult to say!

 

[WilsonFarm]

They're very sweet! The big ones are really comical.

I am new to chickens - so I don't know what constitutes a 'bantham,' but if it helps.. they seemed knowledgeable at the store when they told us the reds and chipmonk were 3 weeks old. They didn't use the name Bantham, just that they were RI Reds and a Speckled Sussex and what their demeanor is typically. They appear to have more feathers than our classroom chicks and are less downy, too.

Would the size of our classroom chicks possibly indicate that they might be roosters? I know they're so young it's difficult to say!

 

[WilsonFarm]

Oh my! They look perfectly normal and healthy to me so at the end of the day thats all that matters!!!!! it appears that the smaller ones are just a few weeks younger... possibly where you got them from was mistake about their age? or possibly are the new ones bantams?

They're very sweet! The big ones are really comical.

I am new to chickens - so I don't know what constitutes a 'bantham,' but if it helps.. they seemed knowledgeable at the store when they told us the reds and chipmonk were 3 weeks old. They didn't use the name Bantham, just that they were RI Reds and a Speckled Sussex and what their demeanor is typically. They appear to have more feathers than our classroom chicks and are less downy, too.

Would the size of our classroom chicks possibly indicate that they might be roosters? I know they're so young it's difficult to say!

****And as you can see by my multiple replies - I'm new to forums too!