I ordered an assortment of purebred eggs from a breeder who keeps over 20 different chicken breeds. I asked for a “surprise mix of large fowl” and ended up with a couple of freebies.
This chick came from a relatively small white/offwhite egg, and is noticeably smaller than its peers. However, I don’t think it’s a “failure to thrive” because it’s just as active, growing feathers, jumping and flying. It’s like holding a fledgling sparrow! Could it possibly be a bantam that was thrown in for free? Or are there really runty chicks sometimes? The breeder keeps a lot of bantams as well.
These chicks are 11 days old. It’s next to an Isabella Leghorn and some Araucanas from the same batch, for scale.
This chick came from a relatively small white/offwhite egg, and is noticeably smaller than its peers. However, I don’t think it’s a “failure to thrive” because it’s just as active, growing feathers, jumping and flying. It’s like holding a fledgling sparrow! Could it possibly be a bantam that was thrown in for free? Or are there really runty chicks sometimes? The breeder keeps a lot of bantams as well.
These chicks are 11 days old. It’s next to an Isabella Leghorn and some Araucanas from the same batch, for scale.
