Low hatch weight chick

[TexasChick09]

I have a broody hatching out some eggs and so far 6 have hatched. They all seem healthy and are eating/drinking well, but one is tiny. When I say tiny, I mean tiny; like 1/2 the size of the other chicks. Does this necessarily mean it will be a smaller chicken or will it catch up to the others? Should I worry about the health of this chick? It is running around like the others, but did have a piece of egg sack type stuff stuck to it when it hatched that I had to soften and clean off. Otherwise, it seems normal and is acting as normal baby chicks do.

I do have one bantam cross EE hen, so it could possibly be her egg, but I was fairly certain that I didn't put any of her eggs under the broody. Not saying I couldn't have accidentally stuck one under there though.


Photo of the first 4 chicks to hatch. Yes, there are way too many eggs in there. I did not give her that many and I thought I had wired her nest in well, but apparently someone or someones has been getting in there and laying. If you notice the green egg with the little crescent moon crack behind the first chick in the nest, that is the egg the tiny chick hatched out of. The yellow chick is hell on wheels- keeps trying to peck it's mom's eyes out and comes running up to me when I look in on them like "who are you????".

 

[chicmom]

That chick might just catch up in a few days. Maybe, since you saw that yolk that wasn't absorbed, that's why it's smaller. Or maybe it's part bantam.

If it's acting normal, I wouldn't worry about it. I've had chicks hatch out, and one stayed small while the others grew twice the size. It was a little cockerel, and it was always just a bit smaller than the rest, but it seemed perfectly healthy.

Take care and thanks for sharing the pic! Very cute!

Sharon