Is it possible for chicks to imprint before getting them somehow?
My little gray chick chirps nonstop, and as one of the smallest it's concerning for me - but she is always much happier when we are holding her and quiets down almost immediately. She spends nearly all her time under the brood lamp, but the temps on that side of the brooder are around 95 - going to around 75 on the opposite side. Her crop also feels gritty still, so I've been trying to dip her beak in the water but have yet to see her actively drinking. Eats fine still. But my husband, who is attached to her now, thinks she imprinted to a hen and wants to feel like she's under something instead of jump a lamp. She calms down more when the other chicks snuggle up, but they are more active and don't stay with her all the time. I am worried she's going to end up as failure to thrive based off such little growth compared to the others. I have a scale coming in tomorrow to monitor weight gain in everyone and start documenting them a little bit better than I have been, we have named only one - and it's this one. My four year old specifically picked her out, and gave her the name Popit, so I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that this one has the best chance possible. I've tossed on pictures of her, she's barely the size of my palm but has started growing out the wing feathers so 7+days? And pictures of the brooder setup, and her circled in the last one to show how small she is compared to the others.
My little gray chick chirps nonstop, and as one of the smallest it's concerning for me - but she is always much happier when we are holding her and quiets down almost immediately. She spends nearly all her time under the brood lamp, but the temps on that side of the brooder are around 95 - going to around 75 on the opposite side. Her crop also feels gritty still, so I've been trying to dip her beak in the water but have yet to see her actively drinking. Eats fine still. But my husband, who is attached to her now, thinks she imprinted to a hen and wants to feel like she's under something instead of jump a lamp. She calms down more when the other chicks snuggle up, but they are more active and don't stay with her all the time. I am worried she's going to end up as failure to thrive based off such little growth compared to the others. I have a scale coming in tomorrow to monitor weight gain in everyone and start documenting them a little bit better than I have been, we have named only one - and it's this one. My four year old specifically picked her out, and gave her the name Popit, so I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that this one has the best chance possible. I've tossed on pictures of her, she's barely the size of my palm but has started growing out the wing feathers so 7+days? And pictures of the brooder setup, and her circled in the last one to show how small she is compared to the others.