Do I have a miniature, dwarf or a runt? *UPDATED WITH VIDEO*

[mondotomhead]

This is Butter Bird. She has barely grown since I got her in April. This is her sitting next to her nest mate bought at the same time. I have posted a similar question previously about her but it was a little while ago. She hasn't changed. What do you think?

 

[HetaChick]

I have a similar problem with one of my chickens. Except mines a special needs bird. Her entire skeletal system is shifted and her running looks like a 2-legged gallop but hey she's alive and doing okay. She too is much smaller than she should be. Who knows why they are that way, mine might be from deformation (she eats like a pig and is completely healthy otherwise.) but yours looks completely normal.

Is her nest mate laying and are they the same age? My bird has been stunted growth wise (she still has some down attached to her neck feathers and she hatched in march.)

She may be bantam, but if she's not laying i think it may be dwarfism? Maybe nutrition? Your other bird looks healthy so I doubt that.

Your two birds remind me of mine. My little one has been by the side of a buff orpington who took her under her wing. they were a good week week and a half apart age wise but she never picked on her. They are truly inseparable.

Anyways I doubt i'm much help, I hope someone knows a lot more on the subject than I do ^^

 

[mondotomhead]

She is completely normal is every way except she is so TINY

She is the same age as her nest mate, bought at the same time from a feed store. She ranges with the others chickens and does normal chicken things. She has all her feathers, no down left like yours.

What bothers me the most is the roosters are trying to mate with her and it ....just.....looks..........so........WRONG (if you know what I mean).

 

[jreynolds]

Just a guess, but seeing as her comb and wattles haven't developed like your other bird, maybe she's just a slower developing breed? I have a couple of OEGBs and they are even smaller than your little bird, so I don't know that she'd be an actual Bantam, (unless different bantam breeds are much bigger than OEGBs). Was she much smaller than the others as a chick? My bantams were really tiny as chicks - about 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the red sex-link chicks. Good luck figuring her out!

 

[mondotomhead]

Just a guess, but seeing as her comb and wattles haven't developed like your other bird, maybe she's just a slower developing breed? I have a couple of OEGBs and they are even smaller than your little bird, so I don't know that she'd be an actual Bantam, (unless different bantam breeds are much bigger than OEGBs). Was she much smaller than the others as a chick? My bantams were really tiny as chicks - about 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the red sex-link chicks. Good luck figuring her out!

As a chick she was the same as the other 6. Nothing to distinguish (sp?) her being different at all.

Now that you mention it, her comb and wattles haven't formed at all!

 

[dandydoodle]

When you got her from the feed store did they tell you what breed the chicks are? Looking at them they obviously look like different breeds. I have some bantam breeds that are a whole lot smaller then others. Breed can make a big difference in size. I am having a hard time telling but, looks like she has a beard and muff. Does she have a beard and muff? What kind of comb does she have? Has she started laying eggs, if so what color are they.

The blue birds look like it might possibly be a blue Orpington or have some in it. If so Orpingtons are pretty good size birds. If your little bird has a beard and muff and lays blue or blue green eggs it is probably an EE. Some of my EEs have a tendency to be on the small size. Do you have more shots that are closer. Do you have pics of her next to the roos? I was just curious what the size difference is. Just wondering if the size difference is bothering her.

Looking at her she looks normal. I think it is just a difference in the kind of birds you have.

 

[mondotomhead]

When you got her from the feed store did they tell you what breed the chicks are? Looking at them they obviously look like different breeds. I have some bantam breeds that are a whole lot smaller then others. Breed can make a big difference in size. I am having a hard time telling but, looks like she has a beard and muff. Does she have a beard and muff? What kind of comb does she have? Has she started laying eggs, if so what color are they.

The blue birds look like it might possibly be a blue Orpington or have some in it. If so Orpingtons are pretty good size birds. If your little bird has a beard and muff and lays blue or blue green eggs it is probably an EE. Some of my EEs have a tendency to be on the small size. Do you have more shots that are closer. Do you have pics of her next to the roos? I was just curious what the size difference is. Just wondering if the size difference is bothering her.

Looking at her she looks normal. I think it is just a difference in the kind of birds you have.

When I bought them all the chicks were mixed in together. The store had a "poster" of all the different breeds that could of been in the mix. All I wanted was the bantams with feathered feet, some yellow and some dark. Both Butter Bird and the chicken sitting next to her are cochins. I think they both are combinations of two different birds. I have other bantam cochins and Butter Bird's nest mate is the same size as my other cochins.

My little bird does have muffs but no beard!

I'm going to get a video of her tonight with my other bantams so you can really see how small she is. If I'm really lucky I'll catch her and hold her with the other cochins for a size caparison. Stay tuned!

 

[mondotomhead]

Here she is in a video with the other bantams.

 

[mondotomhead]

I bumped this up because I took a video last night to show how small she is compared to my other bantams

 

[onedoodle3]

She's so cute! Does she ever get to eat out of the feed pan though? I noticed everytime she went to eat out of it, one of the others would chase her away. She's adorable though!