Mutant chicks or was I lied to? *updated with pics in post 9*

[kara_leigh]

Two days ago I picked up two new groups of chicks. Six 6 week olds, and three 2 week olds. We were kind of shocked when we met the guy with the six week olds and saw them. To us, they are puny, itty bitty. When we got our older chicks, she told us they were 4 weeks old. That was 4 weeks ago, so they should now be 8 weeks old. That would put them 2 weeks older than the ones we just got.

But...the size difference is enormous! The older chicks are easily 3x bigger, at least, than the younger ones. I know the younger ones are def 6 weeks b/c they have most of their feathers, and aren't bantams b/c the guy we got them from says they are growing at the same rate as his Ameraucanas that he got at the same time. My older ones are completely feathered (and look beautiful if I do say so myself <3), and most have already started their pathetic attempts at crowing.

The lady that I got the older ones from, when asked what age they were, acted kind of surprised and seemed to just throw a number out there. When we got them, they seemed really big but I had never had chickens before so I had no clue. Even now, I really don't have a reference to go by so I have no idea. Do you think I was lied to about their age? How can I tell what their real age is? All but one are roos b/c they all have crowed already, hence the reason I got more chickens b/c we want eggs. Unless the one is just slow at crowing, do I need to wait until she starts laying? How do I know when to expect that if I don't know their age? *sigh*

This is so frustrating. I'm definitely buying all my chickens from the guy I bought from two days ago from now on.d

 

[KellyHM]

Do you have pictures? Do you know what breeds they're suppose to be? Different breeds grow at different rates.

 

[mljohnson05]

Could he of given you bantams???

 

[kara_leigh]

I'll try to get comparison pictures the next time my older ones come back to the house to eat.

I'm not sure what breed the younger ones are. He told me in email that they were barred rock, but I thought barred rock were black and white. These are orange and black, but not striped, and one is all black with a white chest and white tips to its wing feathers. *shrug* I don't really care what breed they turn out to be as long as they give us eggs, and he promised to exchange any roos I get for Ameraucanas.

The older ones are kind of a mixture and mutts. One is an Ameraucana (has green legs, and the one I think is a hen), one is a Black Copper roo, and the rest are a mystery/mutts, but they are all the same size. They all look different, except two look alike.

 

[LarryPQ]

The little ones sound like OEGBs, mottled D'uccles, or any other bantam breed.

Can you post pics?

Do they have feathered feet?

 

[kara_leigh]

Quote:
I asked him yesterday and he said that he was told they were standard and they are growing at the same rate as his Ameraucanas.

 

[smokeykk]

I need to see these pitchers!

 

[acrossthebranch]

This happened to me. The only time I ever ventured to buy older pullets I was told by the lady that they were 4 months old and they looked like they were about half that. When I asked her, she told me that it was because she kept her chickens in a warehouse and being away from the sun kept them smaller. I really didn't believe her though.

 

[kara_leigh]

Okay, here are some pics.

A couple comparison pics. It's hard to see the little ones in the tractor, I hope you can get an idea of the size difference. My BCM in the first pic is a tick bigger than the rest, but for the most part all of the bigger ones are the same size.

Pics of a couple of the babies, 6 weeks. They all have slightly different patterns, but are all the same size. My 12 year old son is holding them. His hands are about the same size as mine.

Pics of a few of the bigger ones, supposedly 8 weeks.

 

[FiveHens]

Now, I'm no expert, but I don't think ours looked as old as that at just 8 weeks. However, 6 weeks for the younger set sounds a bit old...they look like ours did at 4 weeks. I kind of think you may be erring in both directions.