# Daisy is not your average chicken.



## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

There is something... different... about sweet Miss Daisy. She's supposed to be a standard size Ameraucana hen. She's over half grown. I have others that are just a couple of weeks older than her that are now at adult size. Daisy is TINY. She's also proportioned strange...I really think she had some type of dwarfism. She can't be with the other chickens so I put her outside in a kennel when it's pretty out and she stays in the house with us when it's not. She loves her people, wants to be held all the time, and really acts more like a puppy than a chicken. She's an absolute pain in the rear and we love this strange like creature dearly.


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

any feathers on her feet and legs


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

No... none.


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

huh could you get a picture of her standing up, a side view, how old is she


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

Yeah, let me see if she will cooperate. Lol


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

These are the best she would let me get. She is quite stubborn. She's about 6 months old maybe. I've lost track of when i got her. I had 6 her age but something killed the other 5 one day when they were babies... she was the only survivor from that group.


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

These are just a couple of weeks older than her.


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

She looks like a Ameraucana to me. jusr teny


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

oh sorry for all the miss spelling i'm caught up in a song


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

Lol no problem...I am the queen of typos, myself!  Yeah, I have no clue why she won't grow. She seems very healthy and eats like a little piggie. My 7 y/o is super excited at the prospect of tiny little green eggs! Lol


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

hmmmm never had this happen


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

this person's hen seems to have the same problem they're just younger
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chick-is-not-growing.795644/


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

I haven't either and I have had lots of chickens. She came from tractor supply so she's just your average hatchery chicken. Her proportions are off... not normal like they would be if she was a bantam so it's obviously a growth issue of some sort.


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

Oh wow... that's interesting. I wonder if these are from the same hatchery. I have no clue which one they use, though.


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

she could just be a runt, if she is healthy i won't worry but it would be nice to figure out what's going on


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

I gotta admit, we kinda like her this way. I mean, I sure wouldn't want anything to be wrong that could harm her but she has certainly become our special little angel.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

Shes so cute, probably just a runt. I wouldnt worry too much


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## Goat_Scout (Mar 23, 2017)

Where did you get her from? She looks more like an Easter Egger to me. Ameraucanas are rare and much more expensive, while Easter Eggers are a mix breed of chicken that come in all shapes and colors (just my experience) and were designed to lay colorful eggs- white, blue, or green. EEs are often sold at TSC, feed stores and the like.
I personally love the breed, and have quite a few myself! Yours is very pretty.


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

Yed, you are correct, Goat_Scout... she is an Easter Egger which tractor supply calls Ameraucana... honesty, I just got kinda lazy about it because I am never around chicken people these days so no one else seems to know the difference. Lol. I have 4 that are normal sized and then there is her. She's such a silly little thing...i really kinda hope she stays this little. What she is lacking in size, she more than makes up for in personality. Lol


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

She still has a couple more months to grow. But she might not get too much bigger


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I thought Auracanas were the expensive show birds that had some weird genetic thing that made them hard to breed, & Americanas & Easter Eggers were the crosses they sold at feed stores & hatcheries, that didn't have reproductive quirks? Someone at the fair showed me their Auracana & it didn't have a tail. What they sell as Americana in my area can really vary in colors from white to grey to brown like the bird you have. Their eggs are shades of greenish & green blue. They have sort of a big looking neck & usually a pea comb or even smaller. I've never seen birds called Easter Eggers here but don't they have even more colors of eggs? I would like that!


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

Ameraucanas are still a breed, but unlike Araucanas, they have a tail. They have more specific traits that can be basically guaranteed. Easter eggers are the "mutt" babies that have been developed to lay a colored egg but it doesn't always happen... sometimes you will get one that lays a pink or tan egg but usually get shades of greens. They are what all the big hatcheries sell as Ameraucanas but they don't always adhere to breed standards. They are terrific chickens and a very popular and pretty way to get a great looking basket of eggs and wonderful yard candy!


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## PippasCubby (May 13, 2015)

Araucanas and Ameraucanas are actual breeds with breed standards in the American Standard of Perfection. The (show quality) Araucana does not have a tail and has ear-tufts. I think tails will pop up now and then, and they can be tuftless, or have only one tuft (I think it's a lethal gene if the bird has two copies of it) so it makes for a little more difficult breeding. I have gotten culls this way (tails and/or no tufts), but I never bred them so I don't know the specifics 

Ameraucanas sold at most hatcheries and feed stores are a mix breed bird, bred to be good layers of colorful eggs. They try to keep some qualities of the Ameraucana such as pea comb, muffs and beard, etc. Sometimes they are sold as Easter Eggers so that there is less confusion 

I have a special place in my heart for the hatchery Ameraucanas. I had one who lived in my college apt for 2-3 months until summer break...she had her quirks and wasn't the brightest bulb in the box.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I love learning new stuff! So the muffs & beards are what make their necks look big! Mine never let me look under their feathers to figure out if the beard is just feathers of if there is "meat" there too. I like Americanas because they tend not to get sick, & like you say they are pretty good layers. But if I ever see any Easter Eggers I'd want some of them too!


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