Extremely Small Chick

TinaHail

In the Brooder
Feb 11, 2017
34
1
27
My hen was recently separated from the other chickens, but one male. Together they made 13 baby chicks. The eggs were clean and about the same sizes. But after 7 weeks I noticed one of the chicks weren't as big as the other chickens. She's about half their size. Does she have dwarfism? Her feathers seem to be aging, but not her body itself.
 
My hen was recently separated from the other chickens, but one male. Together they made 13 baby chicks. The eggs were clean and about the same sizes. But after 7 weeks I noticed one of the chicks weren't as big as the other chickens. She's about half their size. Does she have dwarfism? Her feathers seem to be aging, but not her body itself.
Some chicks are just naturally smaller. If she is having trouble eating or looks weak or is getting picked on, you might want to separate her, but I think she should be fine :)
 
Last edited:
My hen was recently separated from the other chickens, but one male. Together they made 13 baby chicks. The eggs were clean and about the same sizes. But after 7 weeks I noticed one of the chicks weren't as big as the other chickens. She's about half their size. Does she have dwarfism? Her feathers seem to be aging, but not her body itself.
Can you post a pic of the small one alongside a couple others?
Was the hen exposed to a bantam rooster before the separation?
How long after the separation did the hen go broody and start to set?
 
They are bantams, and I will post a pic later. And the hen got broody 2 weeks later
 
I'm in the same boat with a check half the size of the others. This happened last time I had chicks and that one lived 5 months, didn't mature like the rest, and she suddenly went downhill then died. The vet saw her when she took ill, gave her antibiotics just in case it was bacterial but she suspected it was failure to thrive. I tube fed the bird for a few days then she had a a seizure and died. Now I have a small one again, using the left over baby parrot mash the vet gave me for tube feeding, mixing that with chicken crumble and hand feeding that chick to supplement what she gets in the brooder. I'm hoping this time to catch it early and try to get the bird growing. Both tiny birds are/were orpingtons, different breeders. Both lavender. My other lavender this time is huge (boy??)

Anyway, if anyone has any tips for anything else I can do to Jumpstart this chick, let me know. It's behind in maturity and feather growth, all chicks hatched Janunary 31.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom