Four week update on my power rangers

[SandraMort]

Today is four weeks old and we are ready for a growth spurt!!! My biggest fellows look like this:

My runt, however, is still looking mighty small. His head and wings are disproportionately small to his belly and has almost no feathers. He also has some Blue Kote over a scratch that I was hoping to avoid the other chickens noticing, in case anyone wonders why he's blue...

If he survives, and I'm not entirely sure he will, and he's a girl, I'll keep her. If she turns out to be a boy, I'll call the local animal sanctuary. I don't mind the idea of killing him for meat if he's enough for a meal but I doubt he'll fill out enough and killing him for being small seems unfair. I've already told my landlady I will only have one or two roos... and I'll be darned if those are ones I can't let breed. Not to mention that he'll probably end up fighting. It's just a bad situation brewing.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Why wouldn't you be able to eat a small chicken? We eat grouse , and they are small birds-quite tasty too i might add, and also I have butchered bantams before to eat. Noting wrong with them.

JMO

 

[SandraMort]

If he's too bony/scrawny to bother with.

 

[Portia]

what kind of chicken is that 2nd bird? s/he certainly seems to be having trouble growing feathers. Doesn't look right.

 

[SandraMort]

Its called a runt. They're all freedom/colored rangers.

 

[moenmitz]

He/she will fill out, you will see! I had some scrawny rangers, but they chunk up just like the rest, just takes a bit longer. Get ready for a big growth spurt the next couple of weeks- you will be shocked. As for the feathers, I had some that looked liek that too-they filled in quickly, a week or two.

 

[SandraMort]

This is SO exciting!!!!

 

[Cason]

I have a runt CornishX (believe it or not) It's babysitting the chicks.

 

[SandraMort]

I just took a scale out and was rather surprised. Scrawny is over 8 ounces and the fattest ones I could catch were all over 1 lb. Some of the moderate ones were more like 14-15 ounces. Didn't bother weighing the littlest.

For comparison's sake, the brahma and EE born at the beginning of august (basically 2 mos) are 7 or 8 and 5 ounces. They sure do grow slowly!!! When can I begin to range them safely?

 

[miss_thenorth]

My almost 5 wk old cornish X are out in the electric poultry netting right now, with their shelter, and heat lamp. They have been out for almost a week