Dwarfism in bantams?

[Guitartists]

That's the one I couldn't remember!

 

[LilPeeps]

I have had dwarf silkies, and many of them had come from a hatchery.

 

[ksacres]

There is also something called "runting syndrome" that just randomely affects some birds. I had a polish pullet with it. She died at 7-8 months.

 

[seriousbill]

Thanks for the info. guys. I'm going to compare leg length with another pullet tomorrow and see if she has that symptom like the dwarf on feathersite.

Edited to add:
This line from the kazballea genetics site might possibly explain it: "...sometimes there is obvious variation in sizes within a breed, between lines." This little one is a line cross, so maybe crossing the lines produced some variability. But it does seem a bit extreme.

She could have a health issue, but if so, it doesn't show yet.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

hows she doing?

 

[Harley's girl]

I had a silkie that was very tiny. She was hatched out here with about 7 other silkies she lived for almost a year. The winter was too hard on her. But she only grew to be about the size of a softball....maybe a tad smaller. Never got any eggs from her. She was so sweet. But she did the weirdest thing, she would run in circles to the left......constantly!!! So we names her Lefty. If I find a pic of her I will post it.

OK I found a pic of Lefty standing beside her clutch mates.

They were all hatched out on the same day! She was just so tiny! I miss her.

 

[LilPeeps]

I currently have a group of 10 week old self blue silkies, and one of them is smaller than a 2 week old chick and another is the size of a 4 week old.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Hopefully is is true dwarfism and not just a "runt"!! I know that too much inbreeding can cause chickens to be much smaller. I have a mottled bantam cochin hen that weighs about 9 ounces. She is just the tiniest thing...lays almost every day. But I know for a fact that the gentleman I got them from has a pen full of them and they are definitely inbred...don't know how many generations.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

My blue silkie was substantially smaller than the others when she got here (thus her name Shorty). She stayed smaller than the others until they all reached full size. They stopped growing and she kept at it. She's now not noticeably smaller than the other silkie and is bigger than some of the other bantums. I guess she was just a late bloomer. I have to say that her size was never an issue in the brooder. She would bully her way through the standard size chicks to get what she wanted. She has always been pretty high up the pecking order.