Small LF chickens?

[melloladies]

I have a standard EE, a bantam cochin/ EE x, and a silkie that are all around the same size visually. The silkie is actually smaller but the puff makes her look bigger. She is around 4 months, and the other two are around 6 months. I just got two more girls around the same age (estimated at 5-7months) are they are MUCH bigger than any of my girls... At least by 1/3. Did I do something wrong with my girls and they aren't growing??? What gives?
I can't seem to find any info on the threads already, so I thought I'd ask.
Thanks!

 

[Blue]

What breeds are your new girls? I believe EEs are usually around 4 or 5 pounds for the hens, and the cochin and silkie might reach a pound or 2, maybe bigger for the cochin since it's a cross with an EE. I doubt it's anything to worry about either way as long as your chickens seem healthy and active.

For a reference of size, I also have a standard EE, a silkie roo, and a cochin hen. The EE and the silkie don't appear to have great differences in size, but most of the silkie's size is all feathers, while the EE is actually quite bigger than him when I pick them up. The cochin is just a bit smaller than the silkie in appearance, but your cochin should most likely be closer to your EE in size.

 

[melloladies]

Thanks for the reply! One of the new girls is an Ameraucauna and the other is a plymouth rock. they both look around the same size as each other. Everyone appears happy and healthy, so I guess I shouldn't worry. I wanted mostly standard sized chickens so I could have standard size eggs!

oh well... i love them all anyway

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Silkies in this country are not as large as a standard sized chicken, they're smaller. A bantam is a smaller version of a standard sized chicken, which one of yours is mixed with. I don't know why your EE is smaller, but they are mixes, so maybe she was mixed with a smaller, lightweight breed of chicken.

Rocks are a heavy breed, so I'm not surprised it's larger than the other chickens you have.

 

[Blue]

Quote:
No problem! I think the only one that will lay very small eggs will be the silkie. I'd say there's a good chance that your cochin cross will lay fairly well-sized eggs since it's a cross with a standard-sized bird. My cochin lays pretty nice sized eggs for a bantam, especially compared to my old English bantams. I'd say it's in the middle between my old English and my buff orpington eggs. On the plus side, bantam eggs taste just as good as large eggs; it just takes a few more to make a meal. lol

If you'd like a visual on the size, here's a pic (not a very good one, I'm afraid) of my silkie, EE, and a mixed roo that was supposed to be a pullet and that I'm currently trying to re-home. The black and white roo would look a bit bigger than both if he was closer to the front of the pic. He's a pretty healthy-looking guy.

For the eggs, here's a pic of my cochin's very first egg next compared to a carton of large eggs. My cochin's eggs are a bit bigger than this now, but I'd say yours could be maybe 2x this size.