Help for the teeny tiny one....

[diverkell]

I have 18 chickes. They are 3 weeks old. 16 are arucana and 2 are silkies. They all seem to get along fine. One of the silkies is so very small. She's half the size of the other silkie. I've watched her eating habits. She occasionally goes to the feeder, nobody pushes her away. Mostly she scratches and pecks on the ground. She eats a lot of grit. I try to put food on the ground where she spends time. What else can I do for her? She is so much smaller than everybody else.

 

[ChickenToes]

Try giving her plain yogurt mixed with finely chopped spinach. Either add in crushed Cheerios or chicken feed and let it soften in the yogurt.

 

[Bravo]

I was just given this advice and it was very helpful.

Use a coffee grinder or hammer to grind down the crumbles and then add water to make a wet mash. Mine were most greatful for this!

 

[diverkell]

Thanks. I've got the mash made and the spinach and yogurt mixed together. I've put the two silkies into a carrier. (I didn't want the little one to be lonely.) They are napping. I checked out her poop when I got her away from the others. It was all shavings. I put her into the carrier with paper towels in the bottom. I guess she didn't learn in the first couple days. Any other advice would be welome.

 

[diverkell]

So, I tried the different feed. Nothing doin'. They both turned their back, laid down and took a nap. I put them back with the others and left the new food in with everybody else. What now? I'm concerned.

 

[chickmaniac250]

sorry.

. i hope she gets better.

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. i don't know anything i haven't even gottin my first chicks yet.

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[fiberart57]

I hope that she gets better now that the shavings have gone through.

When I got my babies I got wood chips, biggish ones, for their bedding. Then my neighbor, with whom I was sharing chick raising activites, got a bag of shavings and I used it when I was ready to change out their bedding.

Later that day I noticed one of the chicks with a gigantic lump in his crop looking as pleased as punch. I felt it and it felt like popcorn and I asked him what had he eaten! Yup, shavings.

Fortunately he passed through this with fresh grapes, youthful digestion and thin shavings but I took the shavings out and went back to chips. They're not too bright, our chickies.

I hope that now this has passed she'll feel better. I would mash up an egg yolk and make it really runny so she can absorb some nutrition. It might not hurt to give her some applesauce or some grapes to help move things along.

Then I'd switch out the shavings for the chips or something chunkier. Just don't get cedar. My feedstore has both shavings and wood chips. I use shavings now in the coop with the adult birds. They at least know not to eat them.

Good luck, Mary

 

[NWChicks]

I have one that was especially teeny and wasn't interested in eating either. I didn't have yogurt so I mixed kefir with the crumbles and put it on a plate for them. They just tap danced in it at first but once they started eating it they went nuts. My teeny one is still smaller than the others but she's gaining weight and feathering out. She's quite a spunky little thing too! It did take her a little time to decide to taste it but now that she has she will stand at the door of the brooder (dog kennel) and stare at me until I bring some. I think she's trying to use the Force on me!

Hope yours decides to try some real food soon. I'd keep offering the soft stuff in case it takes awhile to decide to eat it. Oh, I just remembered, I did dip her little beak in it once or twice to give her the idea. It was after that, that she decided to start munching.