One of my chics is not growing at the same rate as the others. 4 weeks

[GreenPup]

I have 7 chicks left from the 8 that I got. They are Golden Wyandottes and will be 5 weeks old on Wed. One has already died. He stopped growing out his feathers a week or so ago. He held his wings out slightly. He was smaller thatn the others, but bigger than one. This one smaller chick still has his down. verry few feathers showing. He is acting fine. He is half the size of the other ones. I noticed this morning that he wasnt eating. I have been feeding them the medicated feed. What can I do? Thank you.

 

[ll]

Hi - maybe Poly Vi Sol No Iron infant vitamins in the water?
Good luck with yours I have new babies also and mine are having just medicated feed too.
One we gave back within 24hrs with a leg problem, now it's buddy is depressed and not as active or eating well as the other 2.
To top off my baby experience, we got a new feeder (the round silver chick feeder with individual feeding circles) and our 3 babies seem to be climbing on it getting their feet stuck and hurting their toes. My small lonely one now is favoring a foot.
I will be thrilled if mine last to 5 weeks, they are so cute. Even with spoiling and tons of attention to their habitat, "Failure to thrive" is possible.
I've seen some that are slow maturing and also a rare few that stay immature.
So I would say try the vitamins maybe, or the freezer

 

[Whiskey Bay]

Not sure exactly what causes it. But I've had the same issue. Hubby hatched around 28 Ameraucanas out. All of them are growing great,except for like 4.Those are les than half the size of the rest.I believe they are around 10-12 weeks old. I also have an Orpington baby that is WAY smaller than it's hatchmates.I mean he still looks like he's around 5 weeks old MAYBE.Doesn't have much of his feathers and he's always 'down' I've tried everything.

 

[Anianna]

I'm curious, those of you experiencing "runts" that you hatched yourself, how old are the parents? Much of my research indicates that the incidence of poor growth in chicks increases with the age of the parents and there is a much greater risk when the parents, especially the hen, are more than two years old.