WAS THIS HEN FOOLING AROUND?

[magikchick]

My cochin chicks are about 2 weeks old now. They look great and are growing fast. But one of the chicks looks different. Do I have a different breed or cross here.

You can see the little black one is smaller then my other and the feathering on its legs is not as thick. It also has a tail growing out and its wing feathers are longer.

Marsha

 

[Rosalind]

I don't know, but I will be very interested to see what others think--my Cochins have sort of the same thing going on, one runty little chick who looks like half a bantam while the others are all normal-sized.

Maybe s/he is a late bloomer? Or the bottom of the pecking order? I did find that when I separated my chicks into two pens so they would have more room, the runty one started to catch up a little, and after a while it became apparent that even when the other birds weren't hungry, they would try to block her from getting to the feeder. Next week they are all going in the barn, where they will have a ridiculous amount of room and a huge feeder, such that the other chickens cannot possibly form a barricade. If this miraculously causes my little runt to grow up big and strong, I'll get back to you.

 

[magikchick]

Is it possible I have a maran chick here?