Jersey Giant not growing

[Stablecoop]

Hi all! I am new to raising chicks and am hoping for some advice. We have a flock of 19 lovely ladies; americanas, speckled Sussex, New Hampshire’s, barred rocks, and jersey giants. All chicks are growing steadily except one. We have a tiny jersey giant that’s a third of the size of the others. She doesn’t have pasty butt, and we held her inside one night to make sure her crop cleared....it did, and her manure looks healthy. She seems to eat and drink ok, but I did notice that when I held her in my hand to feed her, the chick starter bits seem to pop out from her beak, like she can’t get a grip on them. She lays down more often than her flock mates and at times seems a bit wobbly. She hasn’t attempted any roosting while the rest of the girls have. Don’t know what’s wrong with her, any ideas or suggestions? We feed her mashed boiled egg yolk a few times per week, and she is a super slow eater. But she will eat it until her crop is full, just takes her a long time. Thanks for your help and suggestions!!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How old are these pullets and how old were they when you got them? What do you feed, including treats? Do you supply grit and if so how is it provided?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, and can you provide a good pic of this bird's head both from the side and front please?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is she scissor-beaked? I see you have another thread going on that subject. There are other folks who can help you with that better than I can.

 

[Stablecoop]

Hello and thank you for your reply and questions!! The girls are almost 6 weeks old, we got them as 3 day old chicks from a reputable hatchery. We are feeding organic chick starter, no treats per se, but do feed her egg yolk. Just stared on chick grit over the weekend, (our local co-op told us not to feed grit if only on chick starter). We sprinkle the grit on top of their food. This is not our crossbeak, the crossbeak is much bigger than this small jersey giant. We let them out into the run today with grass and bugs, and our little jersey wasn’t interested in venturing out. Will take and post pictures tomorrow. Thank you for your help!!

 

[Stablecoop]

Here are front/side pictures. Thank you again!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

She does look really uncomfortable. My first thought was scissor-beak but obviously you are familiar with that. Let's see if @Eggcessive or @azygous have any suggestions on this.

 

[Stablecoop]

Thanks to everyone who can help. Today she is extra wobbly and will walk across the coop just to lay down by herself. The others will snuggle up next to her. It’s not looking great, I just wish I knew what was wrong.

 

[Acre4Me]

She looks unwell. That side pic shows her with her head low/ hunched between her shoulders. This is an unwell stance. Maybe she has some kind of internal issue that was already there at hatch or has occurred since then.

 

[Stablecoop]

What do you think we should do? Let it run its course and come what may? Or should we euthanize her? She does eat, drink, and cuddle with her flock mates. But I agree, something just ain’t right and I just don’t want her to suffer unnecessarily.