Very tiny coturnix chick

[eliseswart]

Hello everybody,

I have something curious, I have 23 one week old quail chicks who are doing fine, they eat, drink, sleep and grow, but one of them is a very tiny chick, who does all those things too but grow. He is now 30% in size of the others, but he does not seem unhealthy of ill, he just does not grow. They all started more or less at the same size and they are now changing very quickly. The midget however still has his fluffy baby feathers.

I never saw a thing like this and wondered if this is very extraordinairy. I have no experience with quails whatsoever. I don't know if he will live very long, although he is very cute. He acts normally as I said, sleeps with his big sisters and brothers, eats, scratches, all normal things.

Has anyone ever had such a chick?

 

[browning6]

I have had chicks do this. My experience has been that they are just slow developers. However, my mortality rate with the slow growing chicks is super high. within the first couple months i bet i loose at least 50% of them. Some of mine caught up and others are always small.

But i hope he makes it.

 

[eliseswart]

Thanks, I thought perhaps it is a new bantam quail mutation or something, but we'll see if he'll be alright. If not, we cannot change anything, unfortunately or for the better maybe. He's developing his new feathers, so there is some movement.

I put him in a box with another normal one to show the difference:

 

[Brohnson]

Wow... the grown up has some really cool markings!

 

[eliseswart]

Same age, incredible, don't you think?

 

[Brohnson]

That is crazy!

 

[Quail Jailer]

Wow... the grown up has some really cool markings!

Its a golden speckled, need eggs?

 

[rjoschko]

OMG, the tiny one is so cute. The bigger one is beautiful as well!

 

[cookiesdaddy]

I'm having the exact same situation this week - I have 25 chicks one week old, ave weigh around 40 g, except one of them still at 15 g! That's only 4-5 g gained since hatched. It's active, eating and drinking just like others! Strange.

 

[rjoschko]

I hatched some A&M's almost a month ago and at 3 weeks some of them were still smaller. But just like yours mine were also active and eating & drinking.