Chick not growing - what do I do?

[Hypnochick]

Hi all

I have a 3 week old silkie chick which i bought in a batch from a good friend.

It was very slightly smaller than its siblings when i got it, but now it is still the same size and its siblings have massively outgrown it. It was getting knocked about by the bigger ones more and more so I have just put it in with another silkie which hatched yesterday Its the same size!! i have tried giving it yoghurt with crumb mixed in, i have tried Respite mixed n the water, i tried raising the temperature in the brooder, I tried separating it and giving it access to food on its own but nothing has helped, its just not growing!!

It scratches and pecks at food on the floor. It has only just started eating out of the feeder, usually it gets all the crumb from around the dish, there is usually lots there anyway... so I put in a low feeder so that it always has food but as i mentioned it has only just learnt how to use it... it poops okay (no funny colours or anything)..... It drinks fine but when it does it tips its head back and shakes it and almost falls over sometimes... in itsself it seems okay...

I am not sure what else to do with it... I want to give it a chance ....I'm not sure how long it will go on for at that size

The chick on the left is the 3 week and the one on the right (yellow) is the 1 day old.

 

[Texasboy4ever]

If you put them together they will be ok. At that age they seem to accept other chicks about the same age. As far as not growing you probably have the runt of the litter so be patient. It may not grow as big as the others but it will be fine. Mother Nature sometimes does this

 

[jossanne]

I had a bunch of barred rock cockerels that were sent as packing peanuts with an order of bantam cochins. 15 of them, actually. One didn't grow for the longest time, and by a month old was still the same size as the bantams. Literally half the size of the other barred rocks. I worried and worried about him, but by the time he was 16 weeks old, we could no longer tell which one was the runt. They were all the same size. Some of them are just different. Hope everything goes well for your runty one!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I have a runt that didn't grow at all for the first week and would also be very unsteady on her feet when standing. She wasn't quite sure of where to get food and the others would shove her out of the way too. I ended up mixing her food (22% protein) with warm water to make a nice soft mash and hand feeding her outside of the brooder a couple times a day. I also did a scrambled egg for her as well. She has started to grow a bit now and is very steady on her feet. She's still in with her much larger sisters but holding her own.

 

[brendapa]

That was a good idea, putting it in with the new chick.
I would try the yolk from a hard boiled egg instead of a scrambled egg. Pure protein and it usually kick starts the pecking/eating process.
Crumble the yolk and they both should love it.

I have a little silkie (1 of 14) I'm babying also! She's 4 weeks old and half the size of the others. I'm going to get her live mealworms.

Brenda

 

[Hypnochick]

Thank you so much for your replies!

I feel much more optimistic about it now!

It seems to be getting on very well with the other one... probably because its not being trod on and pushed an shoved around. Plus its helping the new one to learn where the water and food is...

Its eating the chick crumb no probs and loves a bit of yoghurt mixed in.

I tried crumbled up yolk but it wouldn't eat it - fussy thing... lol

I am just going to plod on and give it time... I'll keep you posted..

If anyone has any more advice I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!!!

 

[Laurie's Silkies]

Whats the protein level of the feed it's eating? Some starters are only 18%. Crank it up to 24% if the protein is 18%.

 

[debilorrah]

Stop worrying - silkies grow VERY slowly. It won;t be full size til it's about 8 months old.