EXTREME Size Difference in Same Age Chicks

[Ptrow86]

I'm going through the exact problem at the moment. All of my EEs are plumper than my austtralorps for some reason. I have one EE that is 50% smaller than their rest of my birds. She's eating and drinking but seems really timid compared to the other birds. I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Chickenman74]

I am new, so bear with me! I joined not only because I am a new chicken owner and I love reading and researching on this site, but also so I could as this question:

I currently have 10 chicks: 2 Ameraucanas and 8 Silver Laced Wyandottes. My question I have is regarding my Wyandottes.

I bought all of them together at 3 days old. When I got them, they were all the exact same size, and they came from 2 different sets of eggs (clutches?). Today that are 3 weeks old. I have noticed that 2 of them have been growing faster than the others for the past week or so. When I look up pictures of 3 weeks old chicks, they match the feather development so I think they are where they are supposed to be. On the other hand, the rest of the chicks seem stunted. A couple of them are so stunted, they haven't changed in appearance or size since they were around a week old. I tried to get pictures but I am not sure if you can tell what I am talking about in them. If you need better ones, please let me know.

I have researched for the past 2 days. Some sources say that the females grow faster than the males.. but that much of a difference seems excessive. I also saw that maybe they weren't getting enough food and that the larger ones could be hoarding all of it. I put a second food feeder in there and I haven't seen any difference as of yet. None of the smaller chicks act sick or abnormal in anyway. They eat and drink just as much as the large ones, they scratch and chirp as much as the others and they even fight for dominance with the large ones. I know all this because I literally sat beside their brooder for over 2 hours yesterday watching and observing. I'm a bit of a paranoid chicken mom. Haha. And they act just fine.... they're just little. lol.

So any ideas of why they might be stunted? Are the really stunted or are they just growing slower? With they stay smaller than the others? Will they get a growth spurt and over night be the same size as the others? I'm worried sick over here!!

Here they are when they were 3 days old.



Here they are when they were about a week or so. Sorry for the terrible picture - but this shows their small amount of wing feathers that have grown in.



And Here they are today. Ignore their dirty brooder and water bottle - I took this when I first woke up before I cleaned everything up and gave them fresh water. And Sorry for the terrible photo, again. But notice how the larger chick on the right already has almost full wing feathers, a few tail feathers, and is starting to grow chest feathers? And also how he/she towers over the chick on the left? The chick on the left only has the very tips of its wing feathers. It hasn't changed since it was only a week or so old.



Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much!!!

I am new, so bear with me! I joined not only because I am a new chicken owner and I love reading and researching on this site, but also so I could as this question:

I currently have 10 chicks: 2 Ameraucanas and 8 Silver Laced Wyandottes. My question I have is regarding my Wyandottes.

I bought all of them together at 3 days old. When I got them, they were all the exact same size, and they came from 2 different sets of eggs (clutches?). Today that are 3 weeks old. I have noticed that 2 of them have been growing faster than the others for the past week or so. When I look up pictures of 3 weeks old chicks, they match the feather development so I think they are where they are supposed to be. On the other hand, the rest of the chicks seem stunted. A couple of them are so stunted, they haven't changed in appearance or size since they were around a week old. I tried to get pictures but I am not sure if you can tell what I am talking about in them. If you need better ones, please let me know.

I have researched for the past 2 days. Some sources say that the females grow faster than the males.. but that much of a difference seems excessive. I also saw that maybe they weren't getting enough food and that the larger ones could be hoarding all of it. I put a second food feeder in there and I haven't seen any difference as of yet. None of the smaller chicks act sick or abnormal in anyway. They eat and drink just as much as the large ones, they scratch and chirp as much as the others and they even fight for dominance with the large ones. I know all this because I literally sat beside their brooder for over 2 hours yesterday watching and observing. I'm a bit of a paranoid chicken mom. Haha. And they act just fine.... they're just little. lol.

So any ideas of why they might be stunted? Are the really stunted or are they just growing slower? With they stay smaller than the others? Will they get a growth spurt and over night be the same size as the others? I'm worried sick over here!!

Here they are when they were 3 days old.



Here they are when they were about a week or so. Sorry for the terrible picture - but this shows their small amount of wing feathers that have grown in.



And Here they are today. Ignore their dirty brooder and water bottle - I took this when I first woke up before I cleaned everything up and gave them fresh water. And Sorry for the terrible photo, again. But notice how the larger chick on the right already has almost full wing feathers, a few tail feathers, and is starting to grow chest feathers? And also how he/she towers over the chick on the left? The chick on the left only has the very tips of its wing feathers. It hasn't changed since it was only a week or so old.



Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much!!!

I breed and raise old english gamefowl for 32 years now. Out of same father and same mother I have witnessed one growing faster. What I have concluded is that the faster growing chicks are genetically better and of better health overall. They mature into better adults than their parents.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

What I have concluded is that the faster growing chicks are genetically better and of better health overall

I totally agree with this. I watched 3 Creme Legbars from same parents mature at different rates (all 3 turned out to be pullets so I definitely would not be jumping to the conclusion this early, that fast growing means cockerel.) Sadly the slowest to mature lived to be about 1.5 which surprised me, she just never seemed as healthy as the other 2 and layed only tiny, weird eggs. Runt's happen, it's life.