Help with feeding a baby chick

[Georgetownchick]

I hatched seven chickens almost two weeks ago. I have one that has a skeletal deformity in its legs. I took it to the vet yesterday. She splinted it better than I had and said if it continues to thrive hopefully it will learn to cope with its deformity and be ok. It can not walk but it does practice standing and it scoots itself around on its knees. I have the chicken starter in its brooder and it can get over to it and feed itself. I still water it every two-three hours because I don't know what to do about its water yet. I also hand feed it yogurt twice a day and give it baby vitamins. It is much smaller than my other chickens. It is a Rhode Island Red and has only grown a little bit since it was born. It does take a lot more energy for it to move around and it does not eat as much as the others. The vet said it is healthy though, just small. Should I be doing anything differently in regards to its food? Should I be giving it something else to increase its calories?

Thanks!

 

[sumi]

You are doing a good job with this little one by the sounds of things! What you can do is maybe give it some nice high protein snacks like mealworms and scrambled egg. Protein will help in the growth department as well as give it some extra energy. Also put a little Apple Cider Vinegar in their drink water. The ratio is 4-5 tablespoons to a gallon water. It's great for chicks (and bigger chickens) as it helps them absorb nutrients and gives them a general boost. It also helps prevent pasty butt in small chicks.

 

[Georgetownchick]

Thank you for your reply. I will try the scrambled egg and mealworms. I have already been doing the apple cider vinegar in the water. I have a quart water thing so I put in one teaspoon. I had a couple with the pasty butt early on and someone suggested that and since started it, no more pasty butt! Do you know how much I should be feeding the chicken? When I give it yogurt it will eat and eat. Will it stop on its own when it is full?

 

[sumi]

Chicks should stop eating when they are full, but I had one that used to gorge itself until we thought his crop was going to burst! He just went on and on...LOL I think give the yoghurt as a treat only, in moderation. Yoghurt is great for chicks, but too much of a good thing isn't good anymore. It needs to eat other food as well, most importantly chick crumbles, which is formulated for chicks and then high protein snacks and yoghurt as treats. Also see if you can get it some greens, like spinach. I used to tear it into tiny chick size bites for mine and they love it.
And, sorry, I clean forgot to say when you feed treats it's important that they get some grit to help them digest it. If you can't get chick grit you can sprinkle some coarse sand over their food.