Do I have a runt?

[taylorgirl6]

I have six wonderful baby girls who I adore, but, being new at this mother hen gig, I don't know if one of them is sick. All six are five weeks old as of tomorrow (Labor Day). I got three breeds, two of each. The chick in question, Ingrid, is one of two golden campines. Her "sister," Norma Jean, the other campine, is nearly twice Ingrid's size. I weighed them today. Ingrid is 150 grams, Norma Jean is 285. The other four, two hamburgs and two dominiques, are all around the 300 to 350 gram mark. Upon the direction of the local feed store owner, I have decided to keep them in the brooder for a few more weeks. The nights are getting cooler here in the Pacific Northwest... But my big concern is that Ingrid is a runt, or not healthy, or will slip through a hold somewhere out in the big, bad world.

Has anyone else had this happen??

Ingrid appears to be happy, healthy, feisty as heck, and completely unaware of her Napoleon-like size. She suffered worse than anyone from pasting up in the first two weeks of peep-hood, but she eats (and poops) like a moose now.

Can I get some seasoned advice? Thanks in advance....

taylorgirl6

 

[gritsar]

Hi and welcome to BYC!
I think it's a good idea to have a second feeder at all stages of their lives, even with a few chickens. Big, bossier chicks can starve a smaller, lower ranking member out (even if we don't see it happening, it happens).
I have a runt, who also happens to be half-blind. When she was little I used to take her aside every day, usually twice a day and offer her a one-on-one feeding. It helped her catch up, although she is still the smallest member of my flock.

 

[cmom]

I agree. I have one from my older birds that was quite a bit smaller than ther other chicks. I gave her some extra attention. She is still smaller than the rest but was the first of that flock to lay an egg.

 

[taylorgirl6]

Thank you so much, gritsar and cmom!!

Now I feel like a bad mama. Poor little Ingrid has been fighting for food this whole time.... I'll head out first thing tomorrow for a new feeder, and I'll give her a little extra on the side when the other girls aren't looking. Thanks again for the great advice.


PS - How do I get my better half to agree to goats next?? (Just kidding.....)

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
With every new creature request to my DH I always add the line "it's cheaper than a horse!". Works every time, but eventually I'm gonna get the horse too.

 

[weaveagarden]

I had two anconas (both male) among 38 chicks. As time went on, one grew and grew. The other never grew much. He did feather, and looked OK. Plenty peppy. When they went outside, the little guy started to grow fast. I guess he just didn't take as well to the confinement. Once outside, he had fresh air and lots of room. So if he was being dominated, he could find refuge places. I did notice that he would take any large chunks of food stuffs into the hen house to eat. So I started quietly putting a little bit of extra feed in there too.

Anyway, today you can hardly tell that there was a problem with his size. They are now 10 weeks.

I also just lost a SLW that just failed to thrive. It does happen. But sounds like yours is doing his best, just slow.