Undersized Chicks at 18 Weeks

[NatJ]

18 weeks.... My chics are nowhere big enough to integrate with the four adults I have left from my first group that I got in 2016.

So you're saying these "chicks" are over 4 months old, but your older birds are much bigger? Are the older birds a larger breed?

Some of mine—the Red Stars—even have a little fuzz still on their heads.

Do you have photos? This is really puzzling!

 

[thepick4uchicks]

I’m not familiar with Bartlett’s either which is not saying a lot but where does it fall in the line up in standards? Is it a feed store line or is it something that maybe TSC has carried a longtime and I have just missed it. How does it stack up against Nutrena, Purina, or like Scratch and Peck?

 

[SmallStep]

Could you maybe post some pictures of the chicks?

 

[SmallStep]

So you're saying these "chicks" are over 4 months old, but your older birds are much bigger? Are the older birds a larger breed?



Do you have photos? This is really puzzling!

I have two RI Reds and two Barred Rocks.
The starter grower is 20% protein. There isn’t a date on the bag. I may have cut that end off. But I got the 50-lb. bag in April. My feed store lady—who I trust—said it was new for this season. They haven’t quite finished the whole bag, but I give them as much as they want to eat.
I called McMurrey and they’re baffled as well and asked me to send pictures too, which I have. They double checked the order and said they did NOT accidentally ship bantams.
Thanks.

 

[SmallStep]

I’m not familiar with Bartlett’s either which is not saying a lot but where does it fall in the line up in standards? Is it a feed store line or is it something that maybe TSC has carried a longtime and I have just missed it. How does it stack up against Nutrena, Purina, or like Scratch and Peck?

I don’t know how it stacks up against those.i just went to the website and it looks like it’s been around for a long time. I thought it was very good food, expecially with the apex formula. Here’s a link to the websitehttps://www.bartlettmillingfeed.com/products/poultry-and-game-bird-feed/28-starter-grower-crumbles.html

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have two RI Reds and two Barred Rocks.
The starter grower is 20% protein. There isn’t a date on the bag. I may have cut that end off. But I got the 50-lb. bag in April. My feed store lady—who I trust—said it was new for this season. They haven’t quite finished the whole bag, but I give them as much as they want to eat.
I called McMurrey and they’re baffled as well and asked me to send pictures too, which I have. They double checked the order and said they did NOT accidentally ship bantams.
Thanks.

Your birds pictured are none of the breeds you listed in text.
I see 2 silver laced wyandottes, 1 red sex link and one Easter egger.

Did the hatchery send these directly to you or did you pick them up in the store?

You are at or over the recommended date from milling before the feed degrades. I recommend getting a new bag of a different brand that is 20% protein. I do not recommend Dumor, to many posts indicating poor quality.

 

[SmallStep]

I was responding to a query from another poster about my older chickens. In an earlier post, I stated the breeds you mentioned, except that those are Americaunas, not Easter Eggers. My feed is 20%. I think what you’re saying is even if I purchased it in April and it was current for this season, it is too old by now. My neighbor gave me her more current 25-lb. bag of Southern States starter grower and I plan to feed that from here on out.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I was responding to a query from another poster about my older chickens. In an earlier post, I stated the breeds you mentioned, except that those are Americaunas, not Easter Eggers. My feed is 20%. I think what you’re saying is even if I purchased it in April and it was current for this season, it is too old by now. My neighbor gave me her more current 25-lb. bag of Southern States starter grower and I plan to feed that from here on out.

I see.....I thought Nat was asking for pics of these tiny for their age birds.

Feed starts to degrade the day it is milled and is good for about 4-6 months before the nutrients are degraded to far to be any good.

Pics of the tiny birds in question would certainly help.

 

[SmallStep]

I see.....I thought Nat was asking for pics of these tiny for their age birds.

Feed starts to degrade the day it is milled and is good for about 4-6 months before the nutrients are degraded to far to be any good.

Pics of the tiny birds in question would certainly help.

I realize this has gotten a bit confusing. The pictures are of my 4-month-old birds, but someone—maybe Nat—had asked what my existing birds were. The old girls—4.5 years—are the RI Reds and the Barred Rocks.
You can see from the pictures of me holding a few of them just how small they are for 4-month olds. I wouldn’t be able to do this if they were normal. I think they will eventually get where they need to be because they seem energetic and they eat well. It’s just weird. I did speak with McMurray and send them these same pictures. The guy I spoke with agreed that it wasn’t normal.
I appreciate all the responses.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I realize this has gotten a bit confusing. The pictures are of my 4-month-old birds, but someone—maybe Nat—had asked what my existing birds were. The old girls—4.5 years—are the RI Reds and the Barred Rocks.
You can see from the pictures of me holding a few of them just how small they are for 4-month olds. I wouldn’t be able to do this if they were normal. I think they will eventually get where they need to be because they seem energetic and they eat well. It’s just weird. I did speak with McMurray and send them these same pictures. The guy I spoke with agreed that it wasn’t normal.
I appreciate all the responses.

It did get a bit confusing.
So the adults are RIR and BR. The young ones (that are small) are the photos. Got it.

They certainly are small for their age. I would switch feed to Nutrena starter grower or Purina starter. I would keep them on starter until they are all laying eggs. If it was just one chick that was small I would say failure to thrive but with 4 I lean toward it being nutritional.