My little Fandango...

[thndrdancr]

Well, you know...my whole family has been looking at lil Fandango, and she just looks....ODD.

I bought (supposedly) 2 americanas and one red sex link. Ok, you look at the other two, they are growing, they are developing, they fly around, they are getting big, they look like chickens.

I bot them around March 30, and reckon they were about a week at that time.

Ok, now..Fandango...looks ....NOT like a chicken. I know she has the crossed beak an all, but she is shaped exactly like a guinea, only in the miniature. She also jumps (and flies) like nobody's business, like I have heard button quail do. She has this long neck, still hasnt got all her feathering in. She kinda has these muffy looking things on her ears and no tail. (She might be a roo, but wouldnt she be trying her voice by now?)

So I decided to call the feed store today and ask if they had anything they had found out got mixed in the batch last month.

The conversation still makes me laugh. I tell the manager..."I got this bird, along with two others, last month..for laying eggs. They are about six weeks now or so...and she is about 3 inches tall. Did you possibly have some other kind of bird mixed in??

He replies in amazement..."three inches???"

(She is really 3 1/2, but hey...who's counting? lol)

I say..."yea...and she looks odd, so just thot maybe you had something that got in the mix with the Americaunas"

He says, "THREE INCHES????"

I say..."yup, so do you know why she would look so odd, as I sure dont think she is gonna lay much, I have a picture I can show you..."

He replies..."nope, must be a recessive gene" "Well, bring in the receipt and I will give you your money back"

Somethin to that effect. I really didnt want my @2.50 back, she is the cutest ugly bird in the world but a BIG pain in the neck really. I just wanted to know what she WAS. I been calling her my lil grasshopper, and since my town only allows TWO chickens (poultry) without a $50 permit, I guess she will be my UFO, cuz she sure aint no chicken.

Jill

Pics to come when I get that silly cd copied off.

 

[BeckyLa]

Hmmm. Interesting. Three inches? Ok, I'll be waiting for the pic as without them I am clueless.

THREE INCHES???

 

[Oaknim]

I have a buff brahma chick that is a little over two weeks old and she's right in that 3 inch height as well - she's super tiny compared to everyone else, especially the month old chicks. I swear she hasn't grown at all since she came out of the shell, but she's a spitfire! I wondered if she was a bantam, but she's not - she has a deformed neck that prevents her crop from emptying properly, so I have to massage it several times a day to help her eat. I'm guessing that's why she's so small - no food! I love her dearly, though. I really enjoy watching her tiny feet step into my hand when it's massage time. I'm like a chicken masseuse!

 

[thndrdancr]

Wow, now THATS labor intensive, doing the crop massage!
I thot Fandango was bad, when I have to hold a special lil cup mixed with fruit juice (such as cantaloupe) mixed in her food, and then, she wont eat it until I let the other two out and they prove to her it is most excellent, and THEN...she cries becuz they are eating it all!
But your right, those tiny lil feet, they are probably about the size of a sparrow, and she is about twice the size of one herself. I know she doesnt really get enuff food in the lil body, and when I read they have to eat 1/2 or so in their body weight a day, I really worried.
I am thinking she might have house chicken tendencies, I bot a pet cage this weekend at a garage sale, and after making sure it was super clean, put them in that to bask in the sun while I went inside for 5 minutes to finish up the dishes. Boy was that a no go. The others never even noticed I was leaving, they were pecking at the grass, etc, until I started walking away and Dango went nuts. I thought she was gonna hurt herself, as she could ALMOST fit thru the bars, but if she did she probably would have hurt herself. If I have her out in the house, she is the only one that wants to follow me to the bathroom, the bedroom, etc, whereas the other chicks think the kitchen in their domain and are content to stay there. Thing is, she wants the OTHER chicks to go with her whereever she goes. If she was smart enuff, she would let them all out when she gets out.
The other chickens have kind of adopted her, and mother her. Its weird, I got them all at the same time, they are growing up together, yet she is their fearless leader, but they take care of her, she gets cold so easily, I saw Red standing over her, and Dango right under with Red's feathers covering her.
They did peck at her beak mercilessly at first, but now just gently clean the food from it. Dangest thing I have ever seen. So if she is crying, then the big brown Americauna cries loud as a baby.But I am her chicken momma too apparently, as if I go out of the room, she comes "looking" for me...crying pitiously...so then Miss Fussy starts up (other americauna).
I would not say she is affectionate, she wont sit still for a minute, but she is very docile, and doesnt mind handling at all. Food is her numero uno thot tho.
If I could get her to eat any treats or anything other than chick feed, it would be easier. I am trying stuff, but she wont let me hand feed, I think her eyesight up close may be a little off center, so she doesnt realize what I am doing, and resists. She tickles me tho...

 

[MTchick]

Three inches? That is unbelievable! You need to link a photo with one of your other chicks and the mini chick. My chicks were more than three inches tall when I got them at four days old. At four weeks my standards were easily a foot tall at the head and about six inches tall across their backs.

-MTchick

 

[Oaknim]

Crop massage for that little girl is VERY labor intensive - sometimes, late at night I have to get up to help her eat and I drag my feet. Then, when she looks up at me expectedly and hops into my hand, I can't help but kiss her little head and smile. She's definitely treated more kindly by the other chicks, she gets a nice soft spot between two of the cochins and the other brahmas when it's nap time. ~ Oaknim

 

[mlheran]

She kinda has these muffy looking things on her ears and no tail.

That sounds like an Araucana to me, and they are smaller than standard chickens. That, in addition to her not eating as well due to her beak may contribute to her small size.

And I agree, post some pics please so we can see this mini!