My little 11 day old runt buff oprington,

[undine]

So, is having a little runt in the flock common =)? I have 9 pullets and theyre all 11 days old and seeem to be growing fine except my little runt Peep(yeh yeh such a typical name LOL) Anywaaaysss, so im wondering do runts grow up normally despite their tiny sizes? Any deformities? DO they get sick much easier than the normal growing chickens? She's pretty active..drink and eats well.. except shes the most timid out of the whole flock.


TOP TO BOTTOM(except the one on the faarr left)
Dale
Peep
Beef
Jimmie

See the size difference? =( and although her wing feathers are barely growing.... they look kind of weird like theyre growing clustered together..or is that normal too? Or could she be a rooster...

 

[sumi]

I've seen a couple here on BYC, but I've hatched and raised many, many chicks and I only had one runt ever. Her incubation was rather unusual, which I suspect had everything to do with her not growing properly. My itty bitty lived 5 months and by that time she was only about 1/4 of her sibling's size.

I see your little bit is not that far behind her siblings, she could catch up with a little help and some "boosting". Start by upping her protein intake a bit. Feed her a little scrambled egg every day, or some mealworms, fine chopped cooked meat (unsalted and unseasoned) and also chopped fresh greens, like spinach. She may be a bit spooked by the new food at first, but she will learn to eat it. Remember to offer grit when feeding extras like these, to help the chick(s) break it down. For the little one you can also give some infant vitamins+minerals (one without Iron) in her water. At least one drink a day. Good luck with her!

 

[aknewlin]

I'm pretty new at this "chicken thing" myself, but one of my Buffs was considerably smaller than the rest.

She was always a week or two behind the rest in all the ways I would visibly notice (feather growth and size), but she was always very spunky, active, curious and healthy.

Now that the chickens are over 16 weeks old, she's just about caught up. She is still just a bit smaller, but she is still very spunky and brave. In our case, she was never sickly or weak. She was just petite.

 

[farnorth]

I have some 12 day old chicks. My little runt is also a Buff Orpington. She is only about half the size of the others. As for the wing feather looking different....adult Buff Orp hens have large bodies and small wings compared to other breeds....so their wing feathers will look smaller or shorter.

 

[undine]

I have some 12 day old chicks. My little runt is also a Buff Orpington. She is only about half the size of the others. As for the wing feather looking different....adult Buff Orp hens have large bodies and small wings compared to other breeds....so their wing feathers will look smaller or shorter.

Ohh i didnt know that =O but my other buff orpington is still growing quite normally, its just this little runt huhuhu =)

 

[undine]

I've seen a couple here on BYC, but I've hatched and raised many, many chicks and I only had one runt ever. Her incubation was rather unusual, which I suspect had everything to do with her not growing properly. My itty bitty lived 5 months and by that time she was only about 1/4 of her sibling's size.

I see your little bit is not that far behind her siblings, she could catch up with a little help and some "boosting". Start by upping her protein intake a bit. Feed her a little scrambled egg every day, or some mealworms, fine chopped cooked meat (unsalted and unseasoned) and also chopped fresh greens, like spinach. She may be a bit spooked by the new food at first, but she will learn to eat it. Remember to offer grit when feeding extras like these, to help the chick(s) break it down. For the little one you can also give some infant vitamins+minerals (one without Iron) in her water. At least one drink a day. Good luck with her!

This was really helpful haha thanks youu =) I tried feeding them eggs yesturday and even thoughhh they tried pecking at it... they ended up wiping their beaks on the wood bedding, and just walked awaayyy lol

 

[undine]

I'm pretty new at this "chicken thing" myself, but one of my Buffs was considerably smaller than the rest.

She was always a week or two behind the rest in all the ways I would visibly notice (feather growth and size), but she was always very spunky, active, curious and healthy.

Now that the chickens are over 16 weeks old, she's just about caught up. She is still just a bit smaller, but she is still very spunky and brave. In our case, she was never sickly or weak. She was just petite.

Glad your runt is able to grow healthy and normally =P It gives me more hope for my little peep even though i already had hopes for her lol xD

 

[bjw113]

I had a runt with my first group of 24 chickens 3 years ago, and she did just fine... I did keep her separated for a few weeks with another smaller baby (because she was a little weak at first too) but she ended up being very active. I have a couple of runts in my group now of 19, three because they are a week younger than the others, but 2 in the original group. I was worried that they might being having the failure to thrive, but they are VERY VERY active and running and eating and drinking... so I am hopeful they will do just as well as my original babies! Good luck with your "runt"!!

 

[808Carlson]

Wow your mixed batch looks almost like mine! The pic I have posted is of the one in question in the foreground at about 7 days old. The front right is its sibling and front left is a white leghorn which I'm sure are both girls.
They are currently 12 days old and came from Meyer Hatchery and are all suppose to be girls. I have 2 BO and one is developing like the rest of the other chicks and the other looks just like yours with Lil wings and had always been smaller. I had been researching it the other day and read that short wings are typically a roo trait. But I'm hopefully that maybe it's just underdeveloped for now
Please keep us posted on how she (or he) is doing!

 

[undine]

Here's an update of Peep! She's still doing fine, but yet still timid as usual. As you can see.. her other sister buff orpington is on her left... notice the size difference? =( she's still tiny as ever...compared to her sisters.