I really need some input on possibly culling a chick

[Mak]

I had a Dominique chick in my bunch that was not growing as quickly as the others. For a bit, she seemed to be getting pushed out of feed and water, as well. I isolated her with her own feed and water for about a week, and then put her back with the others when she gained some strength. She not only did well, but was one of the feistiest of the bunch. She never got the same size and was always smaller than the others, but she thrived and did well. I guess what I'm saying is that as long as she is eating, drinking, pooping and not getting picked on or seems sickly, let her go. She may surprise you yet.

 

[Baralak]

I had the same... I have a Speckled Sussex that was far below the growth of the other chicks. She is just fine. She caught up and I guess because we held her so much, she became a lap chicken.

here she is at 6 weeks old

 

[BooBear]

I would love to see a picture of your little runt. I bet it is really cute.

I agree with everyone on letting it live. It may turn out to be your future favorite.

 

[dieselgrl48]

Define what do you mean by "cull".I read the term often and some people define the term differently.Some people give the bird away or well....Dwarfism isn't Alway's a sign of a defect in a chick.My silkie hen Cinder I had posted Month's ago at 2 month's old she was TINY!She is about 9 months now and doing Super and did get a growth spurt .Yes We babied her a little more but she is in the mix of Bug Uptopia right now and doing great.She is basicaly the prettiest girl in the yard.As long as the bird is healthy can walk, eat and do thing's normaly she should do just fine.I have raised a few handicap bird's in my day and yes some did not live as long as they should but Pretty awesome bird's. I would give it a chance anyway just My opinion.

 

[sheila3935]

My barred rock roo Penguin was always smaller than the rest. For awhile I thought he was a bantam. The others were twice his size. Now at 17 weeks he is almost the size of his brother and bigger than his sister. I say if it is doing well just not growing as much hang onto her even if she always stays smaller you will be glad you did.

 

[HeatherLynn]

I don't consider giving the birds away culling. If I cull a bird its dies. If I give a bird a way its rehomed. My worry here is everything I read about failure to thrive the chick starts to fail and dies. Many times the word gasping, stumbling, unable to poop and various very unpleasant sounding phrases are used. I don't want to keep trying to keep this chick going if thats the result in a couple weeks. I still add vitamines to the water, feed egg every other day , and do several times a day butt checks just to make sure this little guy makes it. I don't want to do all the extras if it only earns it a lingering painful death. If the extras can earn it a chance at a quality life thats a different story. This chick is already a favorite. It is also the only chick out of 28 eggs to hatch from our birds so in the families minds this is just the most special chick ever.

What I am hearing now is failure to thrive does not always end badly. Thats all I needed to hear. If it can fail to grow well and still have a quality life then I keep working with this little one. I think at this point what I will do is take the 2 largest chicks out and keep him and the smallest other one together. The 2 largest ones are both just really massive and they are both roos so maybe getting rid of this competition for food and water will help his situation. I just had not read anything encouraging about failure to thrive chicks in my research so was beginning to get a bit worried if I was doing the right thing for it.

 

[drdoolittle]

I would not cull the chick. It sounds as if it is a happy, healthy bird------some people end up small too.

 

[gryeyes]

I've had chicks "fail to thrive" before, and I wouldn't consider "runt" or "not growing" to fit that category. To me, failing to thrive was demonstrated by listless behavior, NOT eating much, weakness, and death for no particular reason. Not due to pasty butt, or diarrhea, or injury. Just never thriving.

"Little" can still thrive.

 

[biddybird]

We had a buff chick like you are discribing that stayed small. We named her Mighty Mouse. Never seemed sickly just half the size of the others. She is 3 years old now and lays a smaller egg but is quite a character. She lives up to her name and rules the roost. Please don't give up on her, just make sure she is not beat off the feed or picked on. She will grow enough and will give you something to talk about later.

 

[midd2005]

my understanding is that failure to thrive affects chicks in the first, maybe two, weeks of their lives. at 4 weeks old it's just a runty chick.