Please help!

[Jacobt]

I have a 10 week old silkie who has always been the smallest of my chicks (smaller than my other silkie too) but now at 10 weeks she is much much smaller. She also doesn’t really do “chicken” things. I don’t see her pecking much, she won’t eat treats (all my other chicks eat treats like crazy) and she honestly just kind of stands there. She does move to eat and drink, and she’ll explore a little bit, but mostly just stands in the sun. She likes to be held, and will just stand and be pet. She seems kind of lethargic, but always has been like this. Is she malnourished, or not eating enough, or maybe being bullied away from the food from other chicks? Not sure why she’s way smaller than the other chicks, and doesn’t exert much energy. Thank you for your help!

 

[Banana01]

You don’t check the crop at night, you check it first thing in the morning to make sure the food has going down to the gizzard. An impacted crop can be a secondary issue if there is a worm overload, but an impacted crop doesn’t indicate worms necessarily. For this you would want to perform a fecal float test.

I would get some Corid and treat for cocciadosis - judging by its stance and age, this would be my approach. And I would treat the whole flock n

OP should listen to this advice. I agree she is looking at a parasite and as I said I doubt it is worms, so cocciadosis is an excellent candidate and somethimg I need to learn more about for my flock too. And I am sure I have lost many to cocciadosis and never realized it.

I was saying to check the crop at night to see if the chick is consuming mostly water and not any food, which is something that has caused me concern with my underdeveloped babies, and ivermecrin cleared it up a few times. But a fecal float test is even better to check for worms, although it has to find eggs. I hope to learn to do fecal float test myself since I don't have vets.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

Awwww, she’s awful sweet! You say she’s always been like this (not necessarily smaller than the others, but always sluggish)? I’m not sure what it could be, but if she is eating and drinking, there’s that at least.

Maybe you could try supplementing what she’s already eating and drinking (add NutriDrench or electrolytes to her water and try getting her to eat scrambled/hard boiled eggs).

I’m afraid I’m not much help, so hopefully someone with more expertise will have some good advice. Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Her stance is definitely indicative of a bird that is unwell. Could be failure to thrive, could be coccidiosis (though if she's been like this for a while, I think that's less likely as it probably would've killed her already).

 

[Aapomp831]

Have you checked her crop at night compared to the others? If the crop is mostly watery, it could indicate worms which would explain the lack of growth. But I doubt you have a worm problem, just needs more development time.

To be honest your chicken seems fairly okay if she eats. Maybe just give her some vitamins with an eyedropper at night. Whether she is eating or malnourished only you can answer, but the fact she has survived 10 weeks and looks healthy I would say yes. She just needs to develop more and you can always put her aside at night in a seperate crate to sleep, and put her with the others during they day. I have several chickens that were sick as chicks and now as adults function like this, but they are as healthy as they can be.

Also she probably needs a companion or friend, but the other chickens don't want to hang out with her. If you have any others that need special care, seperate them together at night and they may form a bond. I'm just throwing out observations from my flock, I hope something helps, but she is similar to somw of my former rescues that still haven't grown up, but are doing well.

You don’t check the crop at night, you check it first thing in the morning to make sure the food has going down to the gizzard. An impacted crop can be a secondary issue if there is a worm overload, but an impacted crop doesn’t indicate worms necessarily. For this you would want to perform a fecal float test.

I would get some Corid and treat for cocciadosis - judging by its stance and age, this would be my approach. And I would treat the whole flock n

 

[Jacobt]

Her stance is definitely indicative of a bird that is unwell. Could be failure to thrive, could be coccidiosis (though if she's been like this for a while, I think that's less likely as it probably would've killed her already).

If I treat her for coccidiosis, and she ends up not having it, can that harm her? Or is treating her regardless of diagnosis a good idea? Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

If I treat her for coccidiosis, and she ends up not having it, can that harm her? Or is treating her regardless of diagnosis a good idea? Thank you!

No it shouldn't harm her, so not a bad idea to treat for it if the cause of lethargy is unknown.

 

[Chickeria]

I have a 10 week old silkie who has always been the smallest of my chicks (smaller than my other silkie too) but now at 10 weeks she is much much smaller. She also doesn’t really do “chicken” things. I don’t see her pecking much, she won’t eat treats (all my other chicks eat treats like crazy) and she honestly just kind of stands there. She does move to eat and drink, and she’ll explore a little bit, but mostly just stands in the sun. She likes to be held, and will just stand and be pet. She seems kind of lethargic, but always has been like this. Is she malnourished, or not eating enough, or maybe being bullied away from the food from other chicks? Not sure why she’s way smaller than the other chicks, and doesn’t exert much energy. Thank you for your help!

You wrote she is the smallest of your chicks and smaller than your other Silkie - so you have different breeds together with your two Silkies? How many chicks do you have and keep together? It could be possible that the other breeds are bullying her. It may not be very obvious - no extensive pecking, no big pursuing, but it could be she is always/often hindered to eat (and perhaps even drink) in enough peace and in a sufficient amount in more subtle ways. It could be that that subtle behaviour is too much for her and she just retreats and kind of gives up (that she doesn't do much exploring and not much 'chicken things' makes me think of this possibility, too). How many food and water stations do you have for your chicks? If only one feeder and waterer I would recommend to place two more feeders and two more waterers far away from each other. So your little one would have a lot more options to get water and food because everyone and everything is far more spread and crowding around one feeder and waterer is more avoided.
You wrote she likes to be pet and held - I would do this often to give her comfort and reassurance. What do you feed - if you feed pellets you could soak them for her with a bit water and offer her that mash when you take her. Many chick(en)s love such mash and so she perhaps would eat a bigger amout of food.
If you observe closely and can see bullying making a only-Silkie coop and pen could perhaps also be an option.

Your little one looks very sweet - best wishes for her

 

[Banana01]

Have you checked her crop at night compared to the others? If the crop is mostly watery, it could indicate worms which would explain the lack of growth. But I doubt you have a worm problem, just needs more development time.

To be honest your chicken seems fairly okay if she eats. Maybe just give her some vitamins with an eyedropper at night. Whether she is eating or malnourished only you can answer, but the fact she has survived 10 weeks and looks healthy I would say yes. She just needs to develop more and you can always put her aside at night in a seperate crate to sleep, and put her with the others during they day. I have several chickens that were sick as chicks and now as adults function like this, but they are as healthy as they can be.

Also she probably needs a companion or friend, but the other chickens don't want to hang out with her. If you have any others that need special care, seperate them together at night and they may form a bond. I'm just throwing out observations from my flock, I hope something helps, but she is similar to somw of my former rescues that still haven't grown up, but are doing well.

 

[Banana01]

Would you see overgrown feathers as an indication of failure to thrive? I do not know about this condition if anyone can explain.

I also do not know the silkie breed, but those feathers look quite well developed if not enlarged, and that indicates parasite to some of my chicks. I see overgrown feathers unfortunately often and it usually doesn't end well, but it's like a 50-50 because I have never treated for coccidosis. Are the feathers like this in failure to thrive?