Small New Hampshire Red?

[micstrachan]

Greetings,
I'm just barely past my first year of chicken keeping, and have learned quite a bit. However, there is so much more to learn. My New Hampshire Red has always been my smallest chicken. We even nick named her "Daint," but her real name is Rusty. From what I've read, New Hampshire Reds aren't necessarily a small breed. She's recovering from egg yolk peritonitis, so is still underweight. Her "sisters" (flockmates: Plymouth Barred Rock, Black Australorp, Brown Leghorn) are all much heavier, even before her recent illness. Is it common for New Hampshire Reds to be dainty?

 

[QueenMisha]

That is a normal sized hatchery New Hampshire. All hatchery birds are bred down in size to produce better layers. Same goes for Rocks and Australorps - good quality specimens of those can be easily twice the size of your backyard production hen. Real chickens are not small, but real chickens are also very rare in this day and age when quantity is bred for rather than quality.

If she literally weighs less than the others, I'd say she's still recovering from the peritonitis.