Hi,
I hope this isn't a redundant question, I haven't been able to find anything about this yet. And I'll apologize in advance for the long-winded post, but I'd like to give as much info as I can and then I have a few questions.
I have four almost 7-week old chicks, two pullets and two unsexed (but likely cockerels if their attitudes are anything to go by!
). We had one other pullet with them initially but she failed thrive and passed away before they were a week old. The 3 pullets are purebred bielefelders from a breeder, as I wanted at least some of our birds to definitely be girls. One of our remaining pullets is not developing as quickly as her brooder-mates, they're huge and she's about 1/2 - 1/3 their size at this point. She also does not have any feather development on her head though she appears fully feathered everywhere else. Still, her feathers are not as "grown-up" as the others, whether that's due to her stunted size, I have no idea.
I've watched her endlessly, she's happy, doesn't chirp too much or too little, she's not picked on at all, and she eats and drinks with the others (in fact she's always first to the food and fresh water every day). She did appear to have very mild wry neck a few weeks ago but poul-vite (I think that's what it was, nutrients, etc.) in their water cleared that up very quickly. I've spoken with the breeder, she wasn't overly concerned as long as she's healthy and she thinks eventually she'll just catch up.
My plan was to move them into their coop this week and be off heat. They'd be separate from the rest of our flock with their own run & mini coop until they're old enough to be with the big girls. However, now I'm second-guessing whether she's ready for that, even though I can see that her roomies definitely are! I can put the heat plate out there if needed but I was hoping not to.
So here are my questions:
1. What are some possible reasons she's not developing as quickly as the others? Could it have anything to do with her possible wry neck a few weeks ago? Is there something I should perhaps be supplementing?
2. Will she be warm enough with her bigger roommates in a mini-coop, or should I still provide heat until her head is feathered?
3. Should I separate her from her bigger roomies and give her some 1-1 time and food/water on her own, on the off chance she's simply not eating enough? I'm just hesitant to do this because in my limited experience chicks don't always "reintroduce" well, especially given that she is small - I don't want to set up a situation where she starts to get picked on when they get back together.
I'll attach photos in case that's helpful at all. In the group photo she's the third from the left and her "sister" which is also a bielefelder is on the far left. The other two are much bigger but they're from my own barnyard mix eggs, so size may not be comparable.
I'd be very grateful for any thoughts, ideas, or even criticisms any of you could share with me. Thank you in advance!
I hope this isn't a redundant question, I haven't been able to find anything about this yet. And I'll apologize in advance for the long-winded post, but I'd like to give as much info as I can and then I have a few questions.
I have four almost 7-week old chicks, two pullets and two unsexed (but likely cockerels if their attitudes are anything to go by!
). We had one other pullet with them initially but she failed thrive and passed away before they were a week old. The 3 pullets are purebred bielefelders from a breeder, as I wanted at least some of our birds to definitely be girls. One of our remaining pullets is not developing as quickly as her brooder-mates, they're huge and she's about 1/2 - 1/3 their size at this point. She also does not have any feather development on her head though she appears fully feathered everywhere else. Still, her feathers are not as "grown-up" as the others, whether that's due to her stunted size, I have no idea. I've watched her endlessly, she's happy, doesn't chirp too much or too little, she's not picked on at all, and she eats and drinks with the others (in fact she's always first to the food and fresh water every day). She did appear to have very mild wry neck a few weeks ago but poul-vite (I think that's what it was, nutrients, etc.) in their water cleared that up very quickly. I've spoken with the breeder, she wasn't overly concerned as long as she's healthy and she thinks eventually she'll just catch up.
My plan was to move them into their coop this week and be off heat. They'd be separate from the rest of our flock with their own run & mini coop until they're old enough to be with the big girls. However, now I'm second-guessing whether she's ready for that, even though I can see that her roomies definitely are! I can put the heat plate out there if needed but I was hoping not to.
So here are my questions:
1. What are some possible reasons she's not developing as quickly as the others? Could it have anything to do with her possible wry neck a few weeks ago? Is there something I should perhaps be supplementing?
2. Will she be warm enough with her bigger roommates in a mini-coop, or should I still provide heat until her head is feathered?
3. Should I separate her from her bigger roomies and give her some 1-1 time and food/water on her own, on the off chance she's simply not eating enough? I'm just hesitant to do this because in my limited experience chicks don't always "reintroduce" well, especially given that she is small - I don't want to set up a situation where she starts to get picked on when they get back together.
I'll attach photos in case that's helpful at all. In the group photo she's the third from the left and her "sister" which is also a bielefelder is on the far left. The other two are much bigger but they're from my own barnyard mix eggs, so size may not be comparable.
I'd be very grateful for any thoughts, ideas, or even criticisms any of you could share with me. Thank you in advance!
I’m glad to hear it’s working for your Little, that gives me confidence!
