My little Nan just will not grow. Not sure what to do!

[Pharm Girl]

I have the sweetest little fuzzy bumblebee named Nan. She was born March 30th. She's a SLW, non-bantam. I hatched her out with the all white one (The other two came from the farm store, but are close to the same age) They are all feathering out nicely.....except little Nan. They are all growing so big......except little Nan. She wobbles around on her tiny tiny legs, but eats like a horse, drinks plenty, poops. She doesn't seem in pain or ill. She loves hiding under the now big girls and they treat her so kindly allowing her to snuggle under a wing.

Here's the problem....I wanted to move them all out to the coop at about 6-7 weeks with a heat light, but wittle Nan won't be able to stand the cooler weather or manage the ramp at her size. She's not feathered out enough to go out even with a little heat and I worry as the others get even bigger around her, they may hurt her or pick on her as the size disparity increases even more. I keep thinking I'll lose her one of these days, but the darned thing is tough as nails!

Has anyone else had such a teeny tiny as her? I don't have the heart to cull her, she's so sweet and tries so hard to keep up. She's barely bigger than she was out of the shell.

Her and her hatch-mate Arnelle:

Hattie and Nan:

Nan and Olive:

***I realize I posted about Nan and her size once before, but as it gets more pronounced and she keep going, I'm really not sure what to do with her as I will be so ready to get them out of the house! Thought someone may have had the same experience or some advice.

 

[CMV]

She has failure to thrive. It will probably prove to be fatal, but as long as she seems happy, then let her go. You could try giving her some Poly-Vi-Sol for an added boost, but beyond that there isn't much that can be done. I wouldn't get too attached to her. Failure to thrive chicks seldom survive long-term. She may need to become a house chicken if she is too frail to survive outside. Once she leaves the flock, they won't take her back. In fact, there may come a time soon when they start picking on her because of her size.

Good luck with her.

 

[ARose4Heaven]

I concur, failure to thrive. I just lost my little 3 week old leghorn that was tiny like that. They seem just fine, but tiny, then one day you look, and they're gone.

 

[Buugette]

My Tiny Tim was like that. We gave him special attention for 2 months, egg, poly-vi-sol vitamins, made sure he at and drank. He was half the size of everyone else for the longest time. All that care paid off... he started to grow and is now the dominant rooster.

So we have had both... my first failure to thrive died as I didn't know what to try... Tiny Tim had more attention and is doing amazing.

Best if luck.

Diana

 

[oconnorfamily25]

We had a silkie roo like that. Lots of good food and love and he is doing great. Poor little Nan. I would try to give her vitamins and scramble some eggs for her.