We have 3 Black Giant chicks along with 8 other breeds and the "giants' are the smallest chicks out of the bunch. All of the other chicks have tons of feathers at 3 weeks, but the giants don't. Also one of the blacks doesn't seem to be growing. She's about a 3rd of the size of the rest of the chicks. Is this normal for black giants?
I have two giants as well - they definitely do not seem to grow as fast as the other breeds I have, comparatively speaking (I have 13 chicken breeds - some really grew like weeds!). At about 3ish months they are finally starting to sprout up; and I do have one that is smaller than the other as well, although both appear to be pullets. I think as long as they are eating, drinking and behaving like healthy chickens it just may be the way it is. I have read where some giants really do get giant - whereas others don't necessarily reach record sizes. I got mine from a hatchery so I suspect I'm not looking at the top blood lines either.
I breed Jersey Giants and I don't find them to grow slowly as chicks - to fully mature, yes, they take awhile, but when I hatch chicks of a different breed with them, they all seem to mature at the same rate. Could just be a specifi bloodlines that matures more slowly as a chick.
I only have 1 JG chick. We got 3 turkens or Naked necks at the same time and the NNs are maturing a lot faster than the giant. Don't know if that helps or not.
