1 chick out of 23 not growing

[makemesmile]

I have a flock of mixed chicks that are 3 weeks old. Of the the batch haven't grown and inch. She's seriously about 1/3 the size of the others. She's not doing the best, moves slower and seems to get trampled on. Her they seem to curl I wards a bit. I'm just trying to see if I should cull her in case it's a disease or you know it's not going to get better and she's suffering. Or maybe she's a midgit. Can that happen with chickens?

What do you think? She's the tiny one on the left.

 

[makemesmile]

Her toes curl inwards and she's unsteady on her feet.

 

[Theofire88]

Could you get a closer picture? From what I hear, it sounds like curled toes, how old is your chick? My sources say that you can resolve it by taking an adhesive (band-aid preferably, but emergencies call for emergency supplies) and taking two prices (if you can get a band aid, just cut the non sticky part off) put one peice down - sticky side up and gently uncurl the toes, place them in the proper position on the adhesive, then put the other peice on top and secure the toes by carefully sticking the prices together, especially in between the toes. Was she/he born with this defect? It may be something completely different, but this is the closest thing I can think of. If she is an older chick, this can be caused by missing vitamins in the diet. I got all this information out of the book: the backyard chicken bible. I can send you the pages on curled toes in a minute.

 

[Theofire88]

Here are some pictures of the advice out of my book, the pictures can be used to reference you problem and clarify!:

Fingers crossed this works ;p! Hope your chicks turn out ok and this helps you! Sorry if this isn't the problem and I am just a nuisance...!

 

[StarFox7585]

There are numerous people on here who have experienced the same thing. Type in "chick not growing" and you'll find the posts. She should be fine!

 

[makemesmile]

Thanks for the replies! Her toes are curling inward, so I don't think that's it. She's 3 weeks old and is the exact size as a 1 week old. On a medicated chick starter with some sprouted grain. I'll keep everybody posted on outcome. All the rest look great - that's why I think she just is naturally small.

 

[StarFox7585]

She may have curled toe paralysis. It's common among young chicks. Caused by a vitamin B deficiency. She may not be eating enough food or may have trouble digesting it. Try Sav-A-Chick vitamin powders. You just add it to the water. Very inexpensive. Any local feed store should have them. If you have spinach you can give that to them, finely chopped but then you'll have to give them grit so they can break it down.

 

[Theofire88]

She may have curled toe paralysis. It's common among young chicks. Caused by a vitamin B deficiency. She may not be eating enough food or may have trouble digesting it. Try Sav-A-Chick vitamin powders. You just add it to the water. Very inexpensive. Any local feed store should have them. If you have spinach you can give that to them, finely chopped but then you'll have to give them grit so they can break it down.

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