Thyrogenous dwarfism as seen in 6 & 7 week old Barred Rock siblings. This type of dwarfism produced individuals which showed a general growth delay, recognizable since two or three weeks of age. The outer toe is curved backwards, usually, though these do not have that trait. The skull is high and wide in relation to its length and the upper beak was curved downwards, parrot-like. Tongue was shortened and tumescent. Legs are shortened. The condition is semi-lethal, meaning they do not live past a few weeks of age. In fact, none of the affected birds reach sexual maturity. It is considered as the result of a dysfunction of the thyroid gland. This is the type that Piglet and his younger sister, Pooh-bear have. Their sire is no longer here. The gene will only rear its head when two copies are present. The hens and the sire were too closely related and though we had not seen a dwarf in years and thought the gene was gone (parent carriers pass the gene to 50% of the progeny), obviously it was still lurking. ***Piglet passed away during the night of the day we shot this video, simply quit breathing, nothing dramatic. We'll miss his happy presence*** ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE0AY8D2bHo