Runty chick

Date sort Score sort
meg and darren

meg and darren

Hatching
10 Years
Aug 23, 2009
5
0
7
Hi all,
We are the excited new owners of six adorable week-old chicks. They are all fine except our runty Plymouth Rock, who hasn't seemed to grow at all. She is eating and drinking, but not really heartily, and seems to follow around the biggest chick and try to take food from her beak. Can I do anything to supplement her food? Scrambled egg? They are eating Purina Mills medicated starter/grower.
Also,can anyone tell me if I have to worry about my toddler daughter getting salmonella (or ?) from the chickies? They are in our living room:)

Thank you!
 
When I got my chicks there was one that wasn't eating right and I gave the starter feed wet, as much water as it would absorb. She ate this readily. I only leave the wet food down for about an hour because it will spoil quickly and make the chicks sick. The only problem is she is now over 5 months old and still is not right, but that is a story for another post. Good Luck!
 
I have had runty chicks and still have a runty duck (micro-we call her). I have always been very diligent with the runties and have had much luck keeping them alive. The last chick I had with this is almost indistinguishable from the other now. Micro duck is still very small for her age but very healthy and happy.
I supplemented with sugar water, apple cider vinegar in their water, yogurt, lettuce, scrambled eggs. I have used polyvisol vitamins (no iron). Really everything I could think of. I just alternated different things at different times.
With Micro duck, I wrote to BYC and got several different suggestions. Brewers yeast tabs crushed in her peas and water. Brewers tabs contain niacin that ducks need for growth. I also put bee pollen tabs sprinkled on her food and cod liver oil.
Just listen to everyone's suggestions on here and try different things.
Here is a list of treats for chickens:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=135658
 
Last edited:
Thanks very much for the help. She seems a little lethargic today and is cheeping constantly. I hope she doesn't have that cocci thing. She's on a medicated starter. Shoot.
 
Does she at all have a pasty vent? Are they at 90 or so degrees in their brooder, above 85? I would try giving them probiotics because she's not getting nutrition. I would also hand feed her a drop of polyvisol baby vitamins (without iron) daily. Maybe try some boiled egg yolk to build her up, but more importantly check her droppings. If they're at all runny, I'd treat with Corid for coccidiosis just in case. It's one of the rare meds I would recommend "just in case" as it is NOT an antibiotic at all.

Babies can still get coccidiosis despite being on medicated feed because the feed is medicated weakly (on purpose) to allow babies to have exposure to cocci in their gut so that their bodies can develop a specific immune response that will serve them for the rest of their lives. Sometimes the exposure just goes a bit too far, perhaps the baby having an inherited or incubation related weakness. Thus the recommendation of live-bacteria probiotics or a little yogurt first, and then treating with Corid if there's diarrhea.

Sometimes just this boost will help them catch up a bit.

The cheeping is not generally a great sign - that can mean an uncomfortable bird for some reason: often chilling, or an illness. So I'd make sure the temps are good - and that the baby gets some added nutrition.

It's very unusual for PR babies to be unthrifty, they're very sturdy babies, but it happens sometimes.
 
Hi threehorses, thank you for the note. YES, she does have pasty vent, but her droppings have been normal. I am feeling heartened because she seems stronger today, and is continuing to eat and drink (and poop!) I will try the vitamins and yogurt. I am also going to buy another heat lamp today - we've had them under a 100W bulb about 18 inches above them, but I guess she could be cold. I'll see if I can't find a thermometer to put in the box. Thanks for the help -
 
I really like watching the chicks and having them tell me how hot or warm they are. If they crowd under the light, they're too cold. If they spread out more along the outsides of the brooder, then they're too hot. If they stay sometimes bunched a little, but otherwise a little spread out they're just right.
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Hopefully the yogurt will help a bit with the pasty vent, which indicates either temperature issues, stress from shipping, or a bacterial imbalance in the digestive tract. The live bacteria in the yogurt help with the latter.
 
Hi threehorses,
guess what? she's doing great! the heatlamp did the trick. she's still tiny as can be, but growing new feathers and eating and drinking well. thanks for the help!
 
Well, I'm so glad to hear it! YAY!! Sometimes the little ones just fall behind a bit. The feather growth and eating/drinking are great signs!! Good job on helping her out there, and thank you so very much for the update.
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