How can I make my unusually small Buff Orpington chick grow

[crazychick26201]

I have a nine week old Buff who is half the size of the three other Buffs of the same age. I took her to the vet who tested for cocci and parasites. She was negative, but the vet wormed them anyway because an earlier fecal did show stronglytes. I have been weighing them weekly. The older ones are about 1lb, 15 oz. My little one is 10 oz. She eats and drinks well and is very active. She is not bullied. Could she somehow be a bantam? The vet mentioned a genetic problem. I have been feeding her wet mash and scrambled egg. She eats that well but also loves to catch bugs. They need to be moved to their outdoor coop but I worry because the weather has been cool and frost warning tonight. My little one is fully feathered, but I wonder if she can tolerate the cool night temps. The vet thought she might have a genetic disorder that keeps her digestive system from absorbing nutrients and suggested that she might begin to fail around the age. But she still going strong. Does anyone have suggestions as to what this might be or how I can manage it especially with the larger birds? I have raised several groups of chickens and I have never had a occasion like this. Thank you so much for your help.

 

[hollandaisehoney]

I have an 8/9 week Buff Orpington that sounds very similar to yours. I don’t have any experience diagnosing the problem, but mine is doing fine in the outside coop since about 6 weeks.

She still lags behind the others and is noticeably smaller, but her feathers are growing larger and thicker, and she’s making the best of things. The others don’t bully her, thought she does seem very dumb compared to them. I’m keeping my fingers crossed she keeps growing and learning by watching the more adept chickens live.

Edit: Wanted to say my small buff survived 40 degrees and a frost warning when they first got put outside.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Look up “failure to thrive” in the search bar and see if your chick matches descriptions you find there. Those threads might also have some good advice.

 

[crazychick26201]

Thank you! From what I have read chickens with real stunted growth issues fail to feather out and have other problems like listlessness and diarrhea. My little chick is fully feathered and feisty. However I agree with you, she does not seem as aware of sounds or other issues that make the other three bristle and act alarmed. She is kind of clueless. Good to know that your little one survived outdoors in cooler temps. I plan to take my bunch to the outside coop and bring them in at night for a few days. And I will look up the “failure to thrive” thread too. I will take pictures to post too.

 

[Mamagirl3]

Late to see this... but 3 years ago we got some chicks and there were 4 buffs in the group... 1 of them just did NOT keep up... did everything like her sisters.. but much smaller. Because she was smaller we paid lots more attention to her and she became very spoiled! Wanted to sit in my lap!! Haha. When they got 5 mos old the 3 normal ones started off laying.. nice eggs... but my little "buffy baby" was still much smaller and of course did not lay. About month 6 to 7 she suddenly began growing.. and fast too.. we were shocked! Dont know but had thought possibly the free ranging they began having at about 5 mos may have introduced something she was eating that kicked in?? Within a month she wasnt all that much smaller than her sisters! Then in a few weeks she started laying... she is 3 yrs now... still a little smaller than her 3 sisters... and hasnt put on that cute full figured girl look like her sisters she has always stayed looking on the thinner side. But she stays right up with them all!! Still spoiled.. hahaha but lays as much as the others and her eggs arent quite as big and heavy as the other 3.. but once tossed in the pan they eat just as good! So dont give up yet!! She may have problems ... which would be sad... or maybe a late bloomer like our little buffy baby! And she knows her name is BUFFY too! Best of luck to you!

 

[crazychick26201]

Thank you for this post! It’s so encouraging to know that this has happened to someone else. We are now at 12 weeks which is three months. I guess the other three are 2 lbs. 8 oz. and our little Bella bird as I call her is 11 ounces. She is very active and spunky and does everything the others do but I am worried about putting her with a flock of full grown hens when she gets to be about 16 weeks old. So I sure hope she grows. I’ve heard about this happening from a couple other backyard chicken members but it’s a first for me of course like you we really spoiled little Bella. Thank you for your encouragement and support.

 

[MGG]

Also late, but glad to hear she's doing well! I thought I'd post for any others having the same issue, but switching to a higher protein Gamebird starter or meatbird starter will frequently pull them out of it. I've saved many runts this way. It's safe to give to all of them for a week or two, but usually I pull the runt and another chick they get along with or the next smallest chick and feed it to them exclusively. If you can selectively feed it to just the runt though that works best. I've used both Purina Gamebird starter 30% and nutrena meatbird starter 22%. Both work but I prefer the Gamebird. I'd definitely try it and see if it helps. It can't hurt. Good luck!

 

[crazychick26201]

Also late, but glad to hear she's doing well! I thought I'd post for any others having the same issue, but switching to a higher protein Gamebird starter or meatbird starter will frequently pull them out of it. I've saved many runts this way. It's safe to give to all of them for a week or two, but usually I pull the runt and another chick they get along with or the next smallest chick and feed it to them exclusively. If you can selectively feed it to just the runt though that works best. I've used both Purina Gamebird starter 30% and nutrena meatbird starter 22%. Both work but I prefer the Gamebird. I'd definitely try it and see if it helps. It can't hurt. Good luck!

 

[crazychick26201]

Thank you for this advice. I have been trying to give her extra protein and form such as scrambled egg, hard-boiled egg and mealworms. But the higher protein might just do the trick. I will try it. It’s a big bag for my small flock, but I think I can save it to you during their mouth because they need higher protein then too I’ll let you know if it helps

 

[MGG]

Thank you for this advice. I have been trying to give her extra protein and form such as scrambled egg, hard-boiled egg and mealworms. But the higher protein might just do the trick. I will try it. It’s a big bag for my small flock, but I think I can save it to you during their mouth because they need higher protein then too I’ll let you know if it helps

You should be able to get a 5 lb bag at your local feed store. But yeah you can definitely mix it in to regular feed 50/50 to use up. It keeps them fuller longer. I actually raised all of my chicks on nutrena meatbird exclusively this year and they've done amazing. Good luck!