chick is very small

[Brooke78]

My little barred cochin is staying so small and it's feathers keep poking out does anyone have any ideas or suggestions ?

Run

 

[Brooke78]

Here is a pic for comparison on size and they are the same age .

 

[ChickyChicky327]

I have a chick that was tiny, with tiny wings, with feathers that poked out, too. As a bitty chick, she was smaller and rounder than all the rest, like a tennis ball, so we named her Penn. My husband thinks she was cramped in her egg and she developed funny as a result.

We put a LOT of work into her in the first few weeks, taking her out a couple times a day to feed her mash, so we could be sure she was eating enough. She is still smaller than the other, and her wings are still under-developed. She's got fewer feathers for her age, too. The other chicks can fly around the brooder, and she's stuck on the ground, but she's gained a bunch of weight (we weigh her with a food scale every couple of days). Very rambunctious and very friendly, since we handle her so much.

Here's some pics of our small girl. One is of her at about 2 days. The second is from a couple days ago (nearly four weeks). She is the light colored one at the top. You can tell from the fact that she is small, and her wings are short compared to the others.

 

[ChickyChicky327]

I should also mention that we had no luck getting her to eat when we took her out until we brought a buddy out with her. She liked to eat with a friend. Go figure. Social chickens.

 

[Brooke78]

Thanks I think I'm gonna separate it from the others and put it with the blue silkie it seems to buddy up to

 

[JJSS89]

Yeah those baby cochins are microscopic and slow-growing.

Very cute. They are probably one of the most amicable little birds to keep. I have a small flock of four and they live separate because they are so mellow.

 

[Peeps61]

I have seven chicks right now. Three are cochins (not bantams). I've found that they are very friendly - I've even got one that likes to fly up and roost on my fingers when I stick them in the brooder! The others like having their breasts petted. My Buff Brahma chicks are very friendly too, and the RIR chick is friendlier than my grown RIR hens were when they were chicks because of the Cochins and BB. The Ameraucana chick is curious, but flighty. Don't touch! She screams bloody murder when I pick her up too. Hopefully, your small chick will thrive and become the leader of the flock!

 

[Brooke78]

Not sure my poor little baby is gonna make it I went to get another light so I could separate it and I come back to poor little thing huddled by itself and now it want open this eye !! I'm so sad I must say he was my first pick and my fave !! But I'm not giving up on it !!

 

[JJSS89]

Hard to tell from the picture but it might have been picked on and then it swelled up which will definitely cure.

His left wing looks like primary feathers have been pulled from it too maybe? Give it some time alone and let us know how little biddie is doing.

 

[JJSS89]

Oh and if you do segregate from the rest, please make sure it has sufficient warmth for it to maintain full body temp by itself. Remember that sick or injured birds are even more sensitive to cold/draft.