what the actual heck is she this??

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

One of my family's first chickens was an Easter-egger from Tractor Supply with short legs like this. I don't remember if she was 'shaggy' like your girl, but her back was definitely a good couple inches below her sisters of the same breed when standing at full height. She lived to be about 9 years old if I remember right, and didn't slow down until the very end, so obviously she wasn't too bothered by her stature differences. I recognize some facial structure quirks on your bird that are similar to what mine looked like, like a sort of shortened beak and the way the eyes are set on the face. It's possible it's genetic, but I never really hatched anything until long after my bird was gone, so I couldn't tell you if her uniqueness would be passed on or not. Just thought it was interesting to see another like her, and thought you'd be interested to know she wasn't the only one!

 

[KaseySnow]

She maybe a Dwarf. There's different forms of Dwarfism.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfism_in_chickens

Interesting! According to that, she might have the "MacDonald" form of dwarfism which manifests in shortened shank length. That seems to check out, yes?

I'd be interested to see a photo of her leg length if you could get one. Never seen a squatty chicken before!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Interesting! According to that, she might have the "MacDonald" form of dwarfism which manifests in shortened shank length. That seems to check out, yes?

I'd be interested to see a photo of her leg length if you could get one. Never seen a squatty chicken before!

It could be.

 

[Snowwing]

Interesting! According to that, she might have the "MacDonald" form of dwarfism which manifests in shortened shank length. That seems to check out, yes?

I'd be interested to see a photo of her leg length if you could get one. Never seen a squatty chicken before!

Leggy pics!! Now that I think about it, I should take a picture with a ruler huh? Well maybe tomorrow, they’ve gone to sleep now lol

 

[Vannahen]

Okay okay I know her breed, (Easter Egger), I know she is female but she does not look right. Please tell me what happened to her for her to look like this? Is it malnutrition, Genetics?
She lays me large pretty green eggs and is the sweetest little thing I own- I just really wanna know why she looks the way she does. Is she even a chicken? I’ve spent so long on here trying to figure out her situation. (She is 1 year old as of April 2021). Also is it ethical to breed her? Will her offspring look like her?
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(Here is her with another Easter egger the same exact age, and my welsummer photobombing AGAIN lol)
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Here’s one of her eggs (I got her April of 2020 and she did not lay until March of 2021)

I think she’s beautttyyyfullll!

 

[-ChickenLover-]

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Leggy pics!! Now that I think about it, I should take a picture with a ruler huh? Well maybe tomorrow, they’ve gone to sleep now lol

beautiful

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Okay cool now I got this idea in my head that I should make a line of Munchkin chickens the problem is I don’t have a rooster- well maybe. I got two straight run polish chicks (one buff laced the other is a splash crested). I am genuinely intrigued by this thought of what her chicks would look like

There are already breeds with short legs such as Japanese bantams, seramas, dorkings, and Scots dumpies, so you could probably breed more chickens with her traits.

 

[Snowwing]

This tiny chicken is a trooper I swear- she was attacked by a hawk 3 separate times, twice by a redtail and once by a smaller greyish hawk, AND SURVIVED. Now whenever a chicken lets out a warning squawk she’s the first one to hide and can’t be found unless she wants you to find her. 10/10 tiny chicken

 

[KaseySnow]

Thanks for the pics! I guess the legs do look slightly shorter than the average chicken, but it's hard to tell. I think the long feathers hanging down definitely lend to the short look, haha. Would be curious to know how low her tummy hangs to the ground compared to a "normal" hen. Or I guess just how long the shank of a normal hen is compared to hers. xD

There are already breeds with short legs such as Japanese bantams, seramas, dorkings, and Scots dumpies, so you could probably breed more chickens with her traits.

True! I still wonder whether it's possible that an accidental crossbreeding happened with her parents between an EE and perhaps one of these listed breeds.

 

[KaseySnow]

She actually seems to share some of the coloration of the Dorking hen with that pale greyish feathering and bright orange patch on her chest, and even perhaps some of the shaggy-looking feathers. I know Easter Eggers themselves are a hybrid breed and so their colors can vary pretty wildly since there is no real conformation in the breed other than egg color.

I'm no expert, but I think it's at least possible that you have some kind of Easter Egger/Dorking cross on your hands.