runt baby chick :(

[babychickens321]

Can you not put it with it's mama yet?

the mum is constantly walking around with the other chick, and often, this chick gets left behind and gets kicked around and pecked by the other chickens if they are free ranging. It does not follow the mama like its brother does, so even when they are confined to their run, when the mum uses the ramp to get up inside the coop, the smaller one does not use the ramp and follow her in, and so its in the run all alone until I realise the mamas not there and move it. recently, its been raining, and the chick is then left in the cold wet run, the run has protection but the wind blows some rain in. and, its just generally cold. so it starts getting lethargic and falling on its belly unable to move unless someone heats it up. so instead of keeping it out with the mama who wants to walk around instead of sitting on it, we've kept it in a cardboard box with a teddy and a heater.

 

[babychickens321]

unclear picture but it got out from the mum to see what was going on!

very unclear but look at that giant crop

 

[babychickens321]

AAH
I was just sitting down with the runt chick and it was in my lap sleeping and I was supporting its bottom with my hand. I don't know why but I fell asleep with it in my lap and my hand like supporting it and then suddenly I closed my fist. I didn't shut my hand completely or squish the chick hard but it made a sort of surprise squeaky chirp and I woke up from my half asleep sleep and found that I was slightly squishing it. it was fine after though and was able to walk and was acting normal. will it be okay?
I WAS SO STUPID LIKE RIGHT BEFORE I FELL ASLEEP I WAS LITERALLY THINKING OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I FELL ASLEEP AND TURNED AROUND AND IT FELL OR IF I HIT IT OR SOMETHING

 

[babychickens321]

 

[babychickens321]

That’s some size comparison.

 

[abenardini]

Can you by chance get a heat plate for the little guy/gal? It seems like with how small it is and failure to thrive that might be a viable option. They cost a lot less from an electricity standpoint too. My latest hatch had a couple of runts and I think it would have been a challenge without the plate. Think of the plate as a stationary chicken mom they can go in and out from under. Also helps a lot with pasty butt. My BYC friends converted me from heat lamps to plates this year. Seconded on the vitamin water / electrolytes. Hope the little chick makes it - it sure is tiny.

 

[babychickens321]

Can you by chance get a heat plate for the little guy/gal? It seems like with how small it is and failure to thrive that might be a viable option. They cost a lot less from an electricity standpoint too. My latest hatch had a couple of runts and I think it would have been a challenge without the plate. Think of the plate as a stationary chicken mom they can go in and out from under. Also helps a lot with pasty butt. My BYC friends converted me from heat lamps to plates this year. Seconded on the vitamin water / electrolytes. Hope the little chick makes it - it sure is tiny.

Do I have to get a heat plate? I bring it in most days and it is in front of the heater where it is nice and warm.
And other days (like today) where it was more hot, I keep it out so it can be with the mama and it’s big brother. The mama sits on it sometimes except when they’re fre ranging or she wants to free range.

 

[abenardini]

Do I have to get a heat plate? I bring it in most days and it is in front of the heater where it is nice and warm.
And other days (like today) where it was more hot, I keep it out so it can be with the mama and it’s big brother. The mama sits on it sometimes except when they’re fre ranging or she wants to free range.

How warm is it where you are? Hot weather vs being under heat are two very different things. As an example, I keep mine in a brooder on the deck in the summer where it's 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit or 29-37.7 Celsius...they still have access to the heat plate 24/7 even in this heat because they need those higher temperatures to regulate their bodies. I like the plate for that reason because if they start to feel too cool, they run under it, warm up, and then go back out of it to do whatever chick thing they want to do.

You don't absolutely need to get one, but was just sharing what has worked for me very well. There are so many different ways to tackle a situation .

 

[babychickens321]

How warm is it where you are? Hot weather vs being under heat are two very different things. As an example, I keep mine in a brooder on the deck in the summer where it's 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit or 29-37.7 Celsius...they still have access to the heat plate 24/7 even in this heat because they need those higher temperatures to regulate their bodies. I like the plate for that reason because if they start to feel too cool, they run under it, warm up, and then go back out of it to do whatever chick thing they want to do.

You don't absolutely need to get one, but was just sharing what has worked for me very well. There are so many different ways to tackle a situation .

In the uk normally it’s hold but summers are hot
Right now it’s 22 degrees celcius
Normally it screams if it’s too cold but not screaming and its a nice weather so it’s doing fine. The mama sometimes sits on them, so that warms it up.

 

[Lynnsacres]

I have two baby chicks and one of them is a little runty.
its a LOT smaller than its brother/sister and is developing its wing feathers very slowly.
how it looks at 3 weeks is how my first chick looked at like 6-7 days.
it also doesn't jump up a lot, when my first chicken was as big as my runt, it would constantly be jumping on top of the mum and trying to fly. this one however, doesn't jump a lot, only when its in its more lively state during the day does it try and jump and flap about. it also doesn't run about as much as the first one. when I take it outside, it first just stands there slowly cheeping and closing its eyes. then after a while it starts to run about and join its mama and sibling in foraging. I don't know if it hasn't imprinted on the mum properly or something, because whenever the mum is going inside the coop or something, it follows her, but if she goes too fast or if there is a step or something the chick must jump over to get to the mum, it either stops trying or tries to jump and flap but fails. then it proceeds to stand there cheeping, then when my other chickens come near it, it tries running under them for warmth. it even does it to my rooster, and he obviously pecks it, but it still tries to get under. there's another hen, which pecks the chicks when they're near her, my first chick has recognised her and keeps its distance from her, and if she pecks it, it runs away. this runt however cheeps loudly but still follows the hen around even though it pecks it repeatedly (doesn't seem to hard but still pecks more than my rooster, he usually does one big peck then leaves them alone). if the mama has gone with her other chick too far and anything big and moving approaches the chick, it runs to it thinking its the mum. not that it can't recognise the mum, because when it can see her clearly, it runs to her. it prefers to just sit under the mum and do nothing, which is a problem, because the active one and the mum just want to dustbath and forage, but this one keeps trying to go under the mum so she ends up sitting randomly in the middle of the garden whilst the active one is running around her and getting under then out of her repeatedly. the active one is really nice to the runt, whenever the runt can't see the mum or sibling and is screaming, the active one runs to it then runs to the mum back and forth. and when the runt is trying to get on a step by flapping but isn't getting on, it just flies up and down the step. its really cute but I feel like when my hen stops being broody and the chicks are meant to be independent, this one will be trying to hide under another hen and wont be independent. also, it has a very big appetite and drinks a lot of water, the only thing that it runs to excitedly is the waterer. in fact the only natural behaviour it exhibits is on the feeder, it scratches on top of it. but it wont eat anything other than the food. for example, id read that mealworms are good for small chicks as it gives protein for them to grow quick. so I give it mealworms but they're too big for it, so I crumble them up and sprinkle it on top of the feeder. if there's an area on the feeder I forgot to sprinkle, it would eat from there. ALSO, when their mama is calling them for food the active one SPRINTS to the food, but the little one stays under the mum unless I physically take it off.
Basically, its a lot smaller, less active and developing a lot slower than its sibling.
here's a picture, the runts one is not that clear but I think you can tell
I don't have any comparison photos though
ONE MORE THING
is it the genes of this chick? the broody hen was originally given 2 eggs, one laid by her and one by my other hen. Then I added another egg 1 day later and that egg was laid by the other hen. there were 2 that were laid by my other hen, but I think one may be this runt. one of the ones laid by her died shortly after it cracked out of the shell which was an absolute SHAME; its colouring was so adorable, not a pure colour, but my 'other hen' is a lavender pekin and the father is Isabelle, so the colour was all lavender except a lining of yellow on its wing tips.
this one isn't doing too well, so could it have been laid by my lavender hen seeing as the other one laid by her died (with foot deformities)?

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I have the same, a chick that is a “mini me”.