I think one of my 9week old chickens has wasting/failure to thrive

[Urban Rustic]

Is there ANYTHING I can do to help her? If I help her, will be able to fully recuperate? she has just slowly fallen farther and farther behind her peers over the last 4-5 weeks. She does eat, but she gets tired so doesn't eat as much as the others. She is starting to seem unstable? I guess? Not when walking, but she seems to have little balance when she is up on anything (if we set her there...she won't get up there on her own). She knows where she needs to go to get into the coop, but even with a ramp won't even try to get in there, because it involves being off the ground a few inches. Tonight, we waited about 30 minutes and after everyone else was settled on the roost before we helped her in, hoping she would decide to do it on her own. She won't roost, just sleeps on the floor after chicken cussing the others for not staying on the floor with her. LOL I feel like, if I can help her start growing again, she will be getting enough energy to do the other things she should be....I hope.

I have treated her several ways for cocci, ,so I really don't think that is it and NO one else is sick at all. Nor have them been.

 

[MaineGigi]

Have you tried the food grade Diatomaceous Earth? you can add it to her feed. Just a thought. I had some really sick chicks and it cleared the up really fast.
~Gigi

 

[Urban Rustic]

Nevermind....new problem. I figured it out. She has 2 broken toes...and has had for 4-5 weeks!!! :-O I feel SO bad! Is there anyway to help her at this point???

 

[CMV]

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

Make a shoe for her. She won't be able to roost until the foot is healed, but it may help her out if she is in less pain.

Good luck.

 

[Urban Rustic]

I wanted to update! So, I splinted her her foot for 2 days and moved things around for her to feel safer getting in and out of the coop herself. On the 4ty day, she started getting in andbout on her own, and now she is putting on weight and growing well. She is doing SO much better! I have a "no picking up any brown chickens" rule with my 7yr old to assure she only goes where she can get herself, hoping she doesn't reinjure before it heals completely. She isn't roosting, but I'm going to give her a low broad roost now that she is doing so much better, to encourage to move up with the big girls when she is ready.

 

[CMV]

Glad to hear she is recovering. She should eventually start roosting when the foot stops hurting. Remember that broken bones often hurt for up to 3 months after the initial injury- 1-2 months to heal fully and then a month to ache and be sore.

 

[Urban Rustic]

I have NO idea what the deal has been entirely with her. I finally culled her about 1 week ago. :-( She kept being found outside in bad weather, shivering and soaked and unable or unwilling to walk at all. she lived the last 5 days of her life in the nest box, refusing to come out but walking around in it minimally (community nest box). She wouldn't stand up to eat. She stumbled really badly when she tried to walk. When I butchered her, she literally had no meat on her legs....not enough to make her legs look like more than the shape of the bones with skin over them and her breast meat was nearly non-existent. There was not even the equivalent of 1 chicken breast on her whole body. :-( We did SO many things to try and help her. All the other chickens are bursting with health though!