Failure to thrive

[Chickarama1]

Hello

I have a small group of commercial chicks who are about three-four weeks old. All look great apart from one that has not grown at all and still looks like a week-old chick. It is eating and drinking but sleeps quite a bit.

I have given them all some vits to try and help it a bit but am I wasting my time? I am trying to give it a go but realistically I wonder whether it is cruel to keep it going...its long-term chances of survival look pretty slim.

Many thanks

 

[Peppercorngal]

You never know. It doesn't hurt to try and if it dies you will know you did all you could to help it. I'd keep trying myself.

 

[M Brennen]

I have a chick that still isn’t fully feathered at 8 weeks old. She is eating, drinking, and keeping up with the flock. You don’t ever know. I always use probiotics and electrolytes. The sleeping a lot is concerning. Keep an eye that it doesn’t get trampled. You might need to separate.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I have had full grown chickens that were smaller than a man's fist. Here in Panama, they call them Kikiriki; basically a type of ultra-tiny bantams. Just because it's from the same batch of chicks doesn't mean the same parents or that the same DNA was passed along to this chick. If this chick seems to be otherwise healthy, I'd let nature take its course. Because it's mates are so much larger though, I'd ensure that this squirt has places that it can duck into that the bigger ones cannot follow to ensure that the wee one isn't being trampled.

 

[Chickarama1]

It's not looking good for this little chick. It has its eyes shut most of the time and what seems like a full crop so I think that its digestive tract has not developed properly

 

[M Brennen]

It's not looking good for this little chick. It has its eyes shut most of the time and what seems like a full crop so I think that its digestive tract has not developed properly

So sorry.

 

[feather13]

It's not looking good for this little chick. It has its eyes shut most of the time and what seems like a full crop so I think that its digestive tract has not developed properly

How is your chick now? We had an Egyptian Fayoumi like that. She is so tiny and used to sleep a lot with labored breathing and eyes closed. Now she is pretty active (although skittish like the breed), although still quite small. Good luck and I hope your chick pulls through!

 

[citymeetscountry]

I’m sorry to hear that! I hope you have better luck than we did. We lost a baby today (to I think Failure to Thrive). We just got them on Sat and I noticed this morning 1 didn’t seem to be doing too well. I tried Nutri-drench and kept a close eye on her. I came in to make some scrambled eggs as a last ditch effort for her and by the time I got them outside to her she had already passed. Our 7 year old was heartbroken. It happens so fast when they take a turn.