Is this normal?

[AutumnPeeps]

My Banty hatched about two weeks ago along with 10 other chicks. All of the other chicks run around and flap all over and stuff, they're so cute!

But the Banty sleeps a lot, and often gets left behind by the other chicks when they're all out. Is it normal for bantys to be tired more than other chickens? I've never had one before, and we only had one egg, so I have nothing to compare her with. Am I right to be a little worried?

That's her picture in my avatar, just so you know

 

[CMV]

You are right to be concerned. Chicks are chicks are chicks... banty or otherwise. A chick that is not as perky as the rest may have something going on. Hopefully the banty will perk up if given a little more time, but keep a close eye on the group and make sure the weaker chick is able to access feed and water. If it seems to continue failing then you may want to separate it into a smaller group to allow it more access to resources.

Is it growing and feathering out normally?

 

[mother o' chicks72]

you could try giving her some electrolytes in her water

 

[BasicallyHeather]

Agreed with the above posts... *but* I will also say that some chickens are just downright lazy, even from chickiehood! We had one chick called Lydia, which quickly morphed into "Lazy Lydia." From day one, literally, she'd rather park her butt under the brooder lamp and chillax. As she grew, she would camp out under the forsythia rather than engage in chicken adventures with her flockmates. She always slept with one leg out and one wing out, right from the beginning. Nothing was wrong with her, health-wise; she was just, well, LAZY!

Keep an eye on your banty and the electrolytes are a very good idea. Hoping that you just have a Lazy Lydia on your hands!

 

[AutumnPeeps]

Thanks

She is feathering a lot, more than any other chick. Her wings are almost entirely feathered, and she's getting some on her shoulders too. As far as I can tell she gets enough food and water, and if one of the bigger chicks challenges her, she doesn't back down. She also gets cold easier, or seems to anyways. I've been thinking that this might be just because she's smaller, but maybe not. Also, she sneezes a lot. She was the first one to pip and would have been the first to hatch, but something went wrong with our incubator and the membrane got too hard for her to get out, so we had to come in and rescue her. She was totally fine after though, and she had just as much energy as the first one that hatched. Maybe having been stuck in her egg is one of the causes...

 

[ChickenPeep]

Does she sleep all the time? Is she getting to the food and water? Sneezing is not good. She probably needs a warmer environment. Keep a good eye on her!

 

[AutumnPeeps]

Okay, we got her her own little cage with a warmer lamp to sleep in with a buddy at night. She seems a lot better now!

I think she just wasn't getting enough sleep with all of the bigger chicks waking her up all of the time.

 

[boxedcow]

YAY that is great news. I think that calls for some pictures