failure to thrive?

[charliesgrace]

I have a little cochin chick that is 9? weeks old. It came with a pair of brown leghorns that are 3 weeks older as a gift for my son from the breeder. I posted when the female leghorn died of what the breeder thought was coccidiosis (sp).
The cochin is still only the size of a coke can, and has been feathering for the last 2 weeks (finally), but is still only half feathered. My son named it Light, Light sneezes often and gets snot and bubbles sometimes too. Also gets a disappearing/reappearing air sac/bubble above the crop near the right wing joint. Otherwise seems happy and alert.
My issue is now it's buddy (the brown leghorn roo at 12 weeks old) is way too big to keep bringing inside to sleep, as it has been getting below freezing at night for a while and baby still can't go out. Buddy stays in his own cop/run during the day and if the weather is nice I take the baby out, (they are separated from the rest of the flock), both are lonely when they are separate. Farmers say to cull, but I don't think it is diseased and will affect the rest of the flock. (I have to say it does look cute to see a rooster with a baby chick under it's wing) Am I wrong?
What are my options for these two? The big guy can be integrated with the flock, but the little guy can't.
I have pictures of Light taken two weeks ago, but I can't figure out how to post them here. I will keep trying and add them to the post later.
Thanks

edited to add photos. doesn't look very old does it? two weeks later it has teenage ugly feather syndrome.

 

[ChooksChick]

Is the Cochin perhaps a bantam?

Ah- pic looks like it's a Pekin or Bantam Cochin. Mine is not a lot bigger than that Coke can- grown!

 

[charliesgrace]

are bantams also that late getting feathers?
edited to add...I just looked at Light, he has bald patches of skin with no feathers or baby down under the wings. The feathers look large for the size of the chick, and seem to stretch the skin.

 

[charliesgrace]

No one has any ideas? I saw for the first time in the area that has the disappearing/reappearing air sac in the skin, that it appears to be part of the crop. Instead of air the area in the neck above the crop close to the right wing was full of food. You can actually see through it. I never noticed this on any other chickens, but they didn't have bald spots either. The little guy has bald spots under the wings and along the neck.
The biggest concern for me is the air sac and the sneezing with mucus. A 5 week long cold? What type of respiratory problems do chickens get? Anyone?

 

[shelleyd2008]

My bantam cochin chicks do seem to take longer to feather out than other breeds of chicks. Have you checked him for mites? That could also cause a problem with the feathers.

As for the sneezing/bubbling/snot thing, that's definitely a respiratory illness, chickens should never have that. A sneeze now and again is okay, but not accompanied with snot and bubbles. Chances are the leghorn has it too. It could be something simple, but it could also be something tragic that would infect your whole flock. It would be in your best interests to find out just what it is before integrating either one of them into your flock.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sorry I don't have much to add, but at 9 weeks old, even if it was a bantie (they should feather out just like standards), and a slow feathering bird, it really should be at least be more developed. It appears to be no more than 2 weeks old in development, so all I can think is a failure to thrive due to perhaps the crop issue you are mentioning. If it can't digest food and adsorb nutrients right, it might not be able to grow. It is ultimately up to you with what you want to do. Some would cull if the bird doesn't fit into their situation well, while others would just turn it into a house pet. If I still had my flock of 30+, I'd probably cull. Since I have no birds with me here and am in an apartment, I'd just make it a house pet. I do agree though, it would be best to figure out what is up with the mucus. That is not normal and you would not want to infect the flock. That said, if it really is just this one bird, if you do keep it, it could be a weak link to the flock and become a vector for problems if it is lacking in immunity due to a failure to thrive.

 

[charliesgrace]

Thanks for the replies. I never considered the fact that it could be a weak link to the flock if it is healthy, but with a low immune system. And so I sit on the fence, I will either have to cull or re-home. anyone want a house chickie?

 

[charliesgrace]

I can't believe it! I posted on kijiji, and got 7 responses within hours. Light will have a new home where s/he can be spoiled as a pet! Thanks for helping me out.