FTT chick? Runt? Still hope?

[littlepip]

I posted an earlier thread about this in another forum but figured I may get more help here. This is my 3 week old Sapphire Gem pullet (supposedly) I got from a feed store when she was a week old. I purchased her after she was given away for free due to an inability to walk making her unsellable, and bought a healthy chick to keep her company. Her toes were curled and she didn’t stand, period. She could barely scoot and needed to be hand fed and watered, but since she had already survived her first week of life I figured she had a fighting spirit. After a couple days supplementing probiotics and electrolytes/vitamin water, she regained her ability to walk almost completely normal with an occasional wobble. I want to emphasize how huge of an improvement this was, as I expected her to die within a few days of bringing her home the way things were originally going.

Now, she’s a lot older but doesn’t appear to be at all. She’s had wing tip feathers since I got her at a week old, which is on track development. But now at 3 weeks those feathers have just filled out a little more while her sibling’s wings are nearly fully feathered. She is still light weight and looks like a 1 to 1.5 week old hen. Is she FTT? If so, is there hope for her to live normally? She is eating and drinking fine and seems a lot stronger than ever before, just small.

The hen in question (3 weeks):

Sibling of the same age:

It’s somewhat apparent from these pics, but the second hen seems very filled out, strong, and healthy. The runt chick feels fragile still as if she’s only a few days old.

 

[alinas2010]

Wow what a miracle chick. How kind of you to take her in and nurse her back to health. I truly hope she is okay and will catch up. She may just be behind bc of the issues she had at the beginning of her life. Does she seem slow or like she has any issues?

I have a soft spot for sapphire gems, I have one myself. I wanted to stop by and tell you not to lose hope. My sapphire gem, Pepper, developed a lot slower than her siblings. She did not feather out quickly. Now she is the largest in the flock. They were all the same age. Here are some pictures for reference:

About 3 weeks old (left):

About 4 weeks (bottom right):

Around 5 week (she is the left one):

Here she is now, grey on the right:

She didn’t catch up until probably 8 weeks.

If your chick seems fine otherwise, she might just be delayed. Keep an eye on her and make sure she is eating enough and has electrolytes and vitamins. Even if she is FTT, all you can do is give her a good life full of love and support until her time comes. But don’t give up hope quite yet.

 

[littlepip]

Wow what a miracle chick. How kind of you to take her in and nurse her back to health. I truly hope she is okay and will catch up. She may just be behind bc of the issues she had at the beginning of her life. Does she seem slow or like she has any issues?

I have a soft spot for sapphire gems, I have one myself. I wanted to stop by and tell you not to lose hope. My sapphire gem, Pepper, developed a lot slower than her siblings. She did not feather out quickly. Now she is the largest in the flock. They were all the same age. Here are some pictures for reference:

About 3 weeks old (left):
View attachment 4148544
About 4 weeks (bottom right):
View attachment 4148545
Around 5 week (she is the left one):
View attachment 4148546
Here she is now, grey on the right:
View attachment 4148551
She didn’t catch up until probably 8 weeks.

If your chick seems fine otherwise, she might just be delayed. Keep an eye on her and make sure she is eating enough and has electrolytes and vitamins. Even if she is FTT, all you can do is give her a good life full of love and support until her time comes. But don’t give up hope quite yet.

Thanks! I’m just worried since she’s so drastically smaller than the other hen. When I search FTT on here, even those chicks look more developed at 3 weeks than her. Maybe she is behind because of her leg issue, but I still feel like the lack of weight gain is alarming. She seemed a little more tired today, and is favoring one leg over the other now. She’s able to scurry fast by throwing her body forwards but you can definitely tell something is up with that leg. No she doesn’t seem slow or like she has other issues really, she eats and drinks and is lively as far as peeping goes, just occasionally stepped on by her sister since she’s a bit bigger. I worry I’ll have to separate them even though they each freak out when the other is removed from the brooder lol. I’ve told myself if anything, at least I gave her more of a chance than she ever would’ve gotten had I not purchased her. Plus, as long as she’s comfortable and happy, a short life will at least have been a good one.