ACK!! THIN chicken

[chickhamm]

I have a silkie, she is about 3 to 4 months old, she is my daughters, and Jordan usually holds her and such. I picked her up yesterday and WOW she is sooooo thin!! I probably should not have but i gave her a small dose of eprinax wormer and then brought her into the house. I have her in a small box and gave her some water with vitamins/electrolites and chick starter with a bit of EVOO mixed in for some extra calories.

she seems healthy, moveing around, alert and cooing... her and her brother are in a small pen with 4 other bantam hens whom are full grown. I am wondering if maybe they are keeping her away from the food? I checked all the others, they are doing well, lots of meat around the breast bone, not like cloud at all.

She is eating like theres no tomarrow right now, so i have hopes for her definitly. Any recomendations on what to feed her and so forth are very much apreciated.

chickhamm
Theressa

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Give her some scrambled eggs for protein every once in awhile...canned cat food won't hurt her if given once in awhile (some say too much salt) but I don't give it all the time and only in small portions when I think they need it....mine like the liver flavored cat food ......

They may be starving her away from the feed....chickens do that to each other...thats why I always have two feeders going in each pen...

 

[sammi]

agree with Tuffholden...

she's most likely being bullied away from feed and water.
maybe an extra feeder and waterer would help, but in the meantime...separate her a few times a day for some TLC and food..extra protein as suggested, and some vitamins for a few days.
if you don't have poultry vitamins..get the Polyvisol children's vitamins..2 or 3 drops for a few days...

make sure she is warm..she needs to channel energy into growth instead of body heat.