Little chick!

[JaneandLizzy]

Here are pictures of a little chick I have that isn't growing. She (he?) is about three weeks old as are the others in the hatch. As you can see the others are getting feathered out, but she has only wing feathers coming in.

She is actually smaller than our 5 day old chicks! We tried putting her in with them, and of course she was really upset, and wanted out. She squeezed through the wires when the others were not quite able to.

She has been hen raised, but this hen is all about feeding her chicks, and never sat still for them to rest under. (The other batch has a hen doing the opposite.) So.. she may have gotten cold, but would that keep affecting her even with this heat wave we have been having? None of the other chicks were able to nap under warmth much, either, but they are growing.

I wonder if she has a growth hormone problem, or is a dwarf. Even dwarfs grow, though! She eats and drinks, but the others are sparring and roosting and following mom through the grass. It takes her twice as long to make it over the blades.

I think she should go with the little ones since she seems to not be contagious., but she thinks otherwise. We may try again tonight anyway.

Perhaps she is just a really slow grower. I have a human child like that, but not quite as pronounced!

 

[MissPrissy]

I have a chick like that hatch. She is growing much slower than the rest and is about half their size even now at 15 weeks. They are very protective over her too. Sometimes they are just a small chick. Sometimes it is a failure to thrive. Either way there isn't much you can for her but feed her well and keep a check on her general health. When she stops acting like a normal chick then you can look for a more serious problem.

She is a cute.

 

[HorseFeathers]

Our Fatima was like that, and our adopted chick, Charlotte. we believe it may have been RSS (Runting-Stunting Syndrome) or possibly Cocci. Both are now big, healthy, and happy!
It may also be that Little Chick is a bantam.

 

[JaneandLizzy]

Thanks for your input. They are all bantams, though. We bred them and they all have the same dad and one of two moms. All the others are similar in their size and feather developement.