Runt vrs Godzilla

[Dukeofhawg]

Hi All... Is it possible to get two chicks from the same store.... these are buff orpingtons, one turn out to be a runt and the other one Gynormous.... It's been a week now and one of my Buffs is still tiny and the other one has outgrown all the other chicks. The little one shows no signs of distress. She's super tame, loves to be held and eats like a horse... very active, but all the other chicks have outgrown her and her fellow buff is almost twice as big... LOL

Any thoughts?

Dennis

 

[Ridgerunner]

I got chicks once from a hatchery where one turned out to be a runt. After a few weeks, it was obvious that it was maybe 1/3 the size of the others. All were male, by the way, so it was not a sex thing. I processed the runt and several other roosters at 17 weeks. The runt's genitals were tiny and totally undeveloped, but otherwise the internals appeared pretty normal, just small.

I have had a lot of variety in the size of chickens, whether from hatcheries or from the ones I hatch from my own eggs, even when mine are from the same parents. Just like with humans, there can be a lot of difference in size of siblings. But this is the only time I've seen a true runt. I've had some that were significantly bigger than others, but none that I would call unusually larger, just normal variation.

My other thought is that maybe they are not what they were advertised to be. It would not be the first time a store got that wrong.

 

[EweSheep]

Could they mistaken it for a bantam?

 

[Dukeofhawg]

Not sure, but she's super cute and lovable. The other chicks treat her good.... if i put my hand in the brooder, she's always the first to jump on it.... The other (Godzilla) buff (we call her Ginger) follows her onto my hand. My Teenage daughters hold them all the time... I didn't think I would enjoy chicks this much... So much for chicken and dumplings after they stop laying.... ERRRRR