6 week old not growing ***Pictures!!*** :(

[bragabit]

I have 13 chicks, and 3 Buff Orp's. Two of them are the same sized but the third is so much smaller. They started out all the same size but now she is just 1/2 if not 1/3 the size of the other two. She seems to be coming to her feathers more slowly too. I have been watching her and she eats, sleeps, drinks and plays. I inspected her and she looks fine. What do you think? Dwarf, or a medical problem?

 

[scullybird]

I'm new to chickens... but is there a banty variety of this breed? Could one have inadvertantly gotten mixed in with the chicks?

 

[The Poultry Peanut]

Quote:
I don't think so and the OP said they all started the same size maby it's a runt

 

[Junkybird]

I, too, am having this issue with an Americana chick. The other three are MUCH bigger. I have already moved them out to the coop and kept the smaller one inside. It had attached itself to a RIR buddy, so I left them together. They are so cute together.

I have posted another post about a medical issue with this chick though. It has a mass/bump near it's anus inside the body. I didn't think that it was going to make it--but he's still kickin! I just couldn't bring myself to put him outside with the other 20 chicks. They are all SO much bigger than him. I just know that he would be smothered or pecked.

My runt is eating, drinking, scratching around, pooping etc. All normal. Sounds like yours is too . . .

 

[firedove]

I had one BLR Wyandotte chick that grew at half the rate that my others grew at. He always looked several weeks younger. I was always worried that I would lose him any day. Then one day he just started growing and caught up. When I sold him (didn't need another roo) he was the same size as his peers.

 

[bragabit]

OK, I am so worried. I see the little chick eating, but when I picked her up she is straight skin and bones. What should I be looking for? Should I seperate her from the others?

 

[NotTheMomma]

Quote:
Just watch for a full crop. In the picture, it looks to me like it's full. Of course you'll find it empty at times, just like your own stomach is empty at times, but after she eats, it will fill up. Sometimes my smallest waits until everyone is away from the feeder and eats then. My smallest is an australorp and a ROO! The only one out of 31 that has a red comb and wattles, and it isn't 6 weeks old yet!

 

[bragabit]

Quote:
Just watch for a full crop. In the picture, it looks to me like it's full. Of course you'll find it empty at times, just like your own stomach is empty at times, but after she eats, it will fill up. Sometimes my smallest waits until everyone is away from the feeder and eats then. My smallest is an australorp and a ROO! The only one out of 31 that has a red comb and wattles, and it isn't 6 weeks old yet!

Ok, if it is full what should I do about it?

Thanks

 

[bragabit]

Does anyone else have any ideas? How do I check her crop?

 

[fernandez0067]

If the crop is full = stomach is full = she is eating = good

the crops is on the front of the chicken on the base of the neck. if you feel it with your hands you can tell if its full or not. there will be a bulge if it has eaten recently.