I have three Austalorps. Two are pretty big, compared to others in the flock. One is small, littler than my Polish, slightly bigger than my Silkies. All birds are 6 weeks old. This little Australorp is a real lap bird, quite the snuggler. When should I get worried that it is so little? It it "normal" to have a chick be roughly half as big as others of the same type?
This may mean absolutely nothing...LOL... but I have an Australorp mix chick with HUGE feet... but crazily enough is one of my smallest chicks still and almost 1/2 the size of my EEs which were hatched at the same time!
I guess I am wondering whether there are any illnesses or problems to look out for, with a much smaller bird.
Is the chick eating, drinking, and otherwise doing normal chick things? If it's not showing any signs of illness, I wouldn't worry. From what I've learned here and with my own chicks, runts are pretty common. My (former) runt has blossomed into the only one of my hens that will stand up to my rooster when he's being a bully. I'd just be sure that the other chicks aren't keeping him/her from the food. Even with just a few chicks I think it''s a good idea to have at least two feeders/waterers; even if your second one is just a tupperware lid.
