My chicken seemed to stop growing.

[Ophelia Joy]

Hi.
I am so new to chicken raising and your wonderful site that I don't even know where to post my question. I have 6 - 22 week old chickens. 3 Rhode Island Reds and 3 Tetra Tints (or so I was told). My neighbor swears the Tetra Tints are White Leghorns. All grew normally until about 8 to 10 weeks old. One of the Tints/White Leghorns just stopped. She looks totally normal for a 8 - 10 week old bird. She is 1/3 the size of the other birds. Tiny little comb. No red on face. No feather missing. No mites. Seems to eat and drink normally. Only difference is that she does retire to the coop much earlier than the rest of the chickens. Other birds are either already laying or starting to lay. She is not. They have all eaten the same food and treats. We have no roosters. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ShockValue]

Could a bantam breed that looks similar have gotten mixed in there? Where did you get them from?

Tetra Tints do look similar to White Leghorns, for a reason. It's a cross between a RIR male and a White Leghorn female.

 

[Ophelia Joy]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I have asked around locally about bantam breeds. I know they are a much smaller bird but was curious to know if they developed more slowly than other birds. I really didn't get any solid answers. Just keep being told they are smaller. I have now been told by two separate (well meaning, I'm sure) farmers that raise chickens that I should just "purge" her from the flock as I live in Central New York and the winters here are long and harsh. The chickens were purchased locally from the Tractor Supply.

If she is a bantam she looks exactly like the other birds...except miniature. Would there be any real way of telling?