2 wk old chick failure to thrive? Please help

[CKfarm22]

I have a 2 week old buff orpington (give or take a couple days) that is noticeably smaller than the rest. She has her wing feathers and is starting to grow her tail feathers, but he wing feathers kind of stick out to the side a little more then the rest of the chicks. She eats and drinks fine but she tends to try to huddle with the other chicks, tends to be alone, and she’s not as active as the others.

Could this be failure to thrive? Is there anything i can do for her? She’s vaccinated too.

 

[Saveria]

It sounds like you are doing all you can. Even if she doesn't make it, I am so glad that she has you there. If she ended up at a retail store or the like she probably wouldn't have anyone with her.

 

[CKfarm22]

How's she doing?

Good! She’s been really active the past couple days, eating and drinking good. No more poop on her butt fluff. I think she’s doing just fine in my opinion!

 

[Whittni]

Sometimes you just get a weak chick. They can even pass away from shipping stress 6 weeks post hatch.

 

[CKfarm22]

The chick was so active today and I’m so happy about it. Only thing i have noticed is she doesn’t really fly at all, like the others will flap their wings but she doesn’t. I’m not really sure if this is a cause for concern but still eating really well!

 

[Indio Gigante Lover]

So good to hear she's doing well! I think it's great that you were able to give the little 1 a little extra care to help get it going. I had a first ever "runt" chick hatched last year. Same size as others at hatch, but after a couple weeks others were growing and this 1 was not. At several months, she was only about half the size as others. Now at just over a year, she's still smaller, but has caught up quite a bit and is laying almost full size eggs.

 

[CKfarm22]

I’m curious if she made it

She’s about 12-13 weeks old and doing just fine. She’s still a bit smaller but that’s okay with me.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

But my question is, is she failure to thrive or what?

And i’ve also seen runts that end up being the biggest in the flock.

You can't know until and unless she does nothing but decline. That's failure to thrive. So definitely give her some Nutri drench or Chick Saver, keep her in with her flock with all that they all need anyway to be healthy and keep an eye on her. You'll know soon enough if she's going downhill or going to make it but be runtish or going to catch up like you say, since indeed that happens.

 

[Saveria]

Not eating or drinking. Being fluffed up more of the time. Not moving around when you look in. Not moving away from the heater ever. Sleeping every time you look at her.

Look for bloody stool just in case coccidiosis is at play.

Minerals may help, but electrolytes seems to be what chicks need if they are low.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Looks like you’ve received a lot of good advice. I would just add that you could also give her some egg yolk. I usually just crumble one from a boiled egg - but be warned, if you give it to everyone in the brooder it will be a feeding frenzy. So probably best to pull her out and give her first run at it. I figure that has all the stuff a chick needs before hatch, so likely similar to their needs as babies.

I think so people feed it raw, which may be better, but kinda messy. But maybe a better bet if she isn’t eating on her own.