When will my chicken reach full size???

[SmallFlocker207]

I have 27 hens about 7 months old and are 5 pounds and should be 6 pounds. One should even be 8 pounds and they are 6 pounds. basically they all need to grow at least a pound more. please help?

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

Depends upon the breeds. Some chickens will grow fast and be fully mature at about a year old. Others like Brahmas take longer and don't fully mature until they are 2 or 3.

 

[SmallFlocker207]

i have welsummers, rhode island reds, barred rocks, columbian wyandotes, new hampshire reds, and partridge rocks.

 

[Mipuppy1]

i have welsummers, rhode island reds, barred rocks, columbian wyandotes, new hampshire reds, and partridge rocks.

Rhode Island reds take up to 6 mouths

 

[donrae]

Remember hatchery birds are frequently smaller than the breed standard. If you look around on the heritage breed threads in the breeds and genetics section, some of those birds look huge, but they simply meet the standard. Our hatchery birds have just been bred smaller and smaller to eat less feed and churn out more eggs.

So, if your birds are healthy, active, eating and laying, I wouldn't worry about it. You'll always feel a keel bone with a hatchery layer. If you feel the need you can worm them or get a fecal count done, that might be an issue, but personally I always take my cues from the birds' behavior.

 

[aggiemae]

I have a Wellsummer hatched 4/1/12 and though she is larger than the other hens (Buff Orps and RIRs) also hatched around the same time she is still growing and she hasn't laid a single egg.

 

[pmcatnip]

I'm wondering the same thing for my backyard mutts. They are about 6 months old and most are about the size of a cornish game hen. One of the cockerels is about the same size as the mature chickens but all the other babies are small. They are mixes from a BA rooster and hens of RIR, BA, and SLW. The pullets started laying little eggs in December at about 4 months old. The eggs have not increased in size that I can tell, nor do the chickens seem to have grown. Last year when the purebred hens were 6 months old they were full grown. I know you can't expect the same things from crosses as from purebreds, but these birds are seriously tiny. Should I expect them to grow any more?