My little Nando just will not grow! Update: He's found a forever home!

[Anianna]

Petroleum jelly would probably help for any discomfort she has from her leg flaking even if it isn't mites, too. Good idea.

 

[Melissa2173]

Quote:
Hi Pharm Girl,

I have been following this thread as I also have a little. She is a barred rock and is 5 weeks old. She has remained the size of a 3 day old up until a few days ago and now seems to be growing some. Her hatch mate is 4 times her size. I'll post some pics later. She is one of the firsts to grab treats, eats and drinks well and does everything the others do. I don't hold much hope for her to be around for long from what I've gathered from others but who knows...I wish your little Nan the best!

 

[Pharm Girl]

Melissa, I'd love to see your little one!

I have been soaking her legs in warm water and petroleum jelly, so hopefully that will help her. Great minds think alike?

She's feathering out all over and is quite itchy at the moment. She will look like a new bird in a week or two when they all the pins pop open. It's all a very slow process for Nanners. What takes a normal bird a day takes her a week or more.

We FINALLY have some sun today, so I'll let her go outside for a few hours when it warms up. I really think the sun and fresh air will do her good. Can't believe she made it to 9+ weeks!

I'm still trying to figure out the chick shoe thing. She would probably benefit from one as she is unstable and wobbly with the curled toes. Not that that stops her from sprinting around.

 

[Anianna]

The shoe trains the toes straight as she is growing. I don't think it does much once the foot is done growing. I would cut something thin and sturdy to the shape of her foot and use some surgical tape to keep her toes in place. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get too tight while she goes through her growth spurt.

 

[earnhardtlvr]

I love little Nan! Please keep us updated! I hope she enjoys being out today!!

 

[TrueFamilyFarm]

I have another 17 in the brooder and a lavender americauna was not growing at all. The difference with this baby is that she was ripping feathers out of all her sibling's chests! I isolated her for a week and fed her scrambled eggs etc for extra protein, and she seemed to be over the feather eating until a week later when I found her with feathers hanging out of both sides of her mouth. The feather eating returned with a vengeance and she managed to make 4 of the other chicks bloody with all her munching! My theory is that she had some sort of parasite or other problem that was preventing her from absorbing protein - thus causing her to eat feathers and stunting her growth. We gave her a month complete before saying goodbye and culling today. She was ripping feathers from our other chicks up to the last minutes. I hate to cull, but I'd hate it worse for the other girls to catch a bad habit or her parasite.

But in much more encouraging news, back in the fall we had a little who grew SO much slower than everyone else. Even her voice remained in the peep peep stage when all of her sisters were clucking. But, she never had the feather picking and had the absolute best personality. She is my husband's favorite because she runs to him when the other 14 run away. So, we named her Thumbalina and decided to keep her even though she may never lay - we figured she had a developmental disability, but it wasn't causing her pain. I'm happy to report that she has continued to grow and even started laying small cream-colored eggs; it just took her 2 more months than everyone else! She's so spunky that she weighs in near the top of the pecking order even though she is still a bit smaller. Thumbie is still a favorite and we're so glad we let her stick around!!

Here's hoping you have a thumbalina of your own!

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Little Nan alive? How's her feet?

 

[earnhardtlvr]

I wanna know too!

How mis little Nan and r her feet getting any better??

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I agree, how's little Nan doing?

 

[Pharm Girl]

You know how they go through that 'ugly duckling' stage at about 5 weeks? Well, Nan may be 10 weeks today, but boy is she in it! She's still all covered in pins. It's like the pins keep the casings on them that keep them tightly rolled. The baby chick fluff stays stuck to the ends of the pins tightly too. She looks like a dandelion puff! The feather pattern on her wings is just all wrong. As I've said before, it's a slow slow process with her. Her toes are still curled. I made her a wonderful boot that she somehow ripped off within an evening. I may try to splint her toes individually instead of one big paddle. She hated the thing and is so happy to run about with her curled toes. I know she needs the intervention though.

Here she is today (10 Weeks!) She still fits in the palm of my hand.