Littlest One responds to force feeding.

My five day old Barred Rocks are growing fast, but some are growing faster than others. Yesterday I notice one in particular that I found myself calling Littlest One. At first this chick just seemed more friendly or less spooky than the others. By noon I noticed she was falling asleep on her feet, sleeping constantly and not feeding. Her crop was empty and I feared I would find her dead and trampled flat by morning.

So I mashed up some hard boiled egg yolk, starter crumbles and sugar water into a paste and force fed her with difficulty, washing down each bite with water. I managed to do that three times through the day with the last one at 11 last night. I never really felt like I got much in, but her crop was at least a little bigger.

We had an unseasonably late frost last night. I lowered the brooder bulbs, cleaned up Littlest One so the others wouldn't peck her, and hoped for the best.

With trepidation I checked the brooder this morning to find all the chicks running around like racing chickens on darby day. Littlest One was doing so well it was hard to pick her out of the other 25 chicks, but I finally found her bellied up to the feeder and even scratching. Good for her.

I'm feeling quite proud of myself this morning. I hope the fall doesn't cometh!

Debby