Question on Little serama wings

[Karilcole]

Hi all,
I hatched 4 serama chicks 10 ago from shipped eggs. Sadly 2 passed shortly after. The 2 survivors are the biggest & the smallest that hatched. They’re both doing great, eating, drinking, pooping & running around like ‘lil chicks do. My question is about the small chick. Its wings aren’t feathering like they should be. The big 1 looks like a round fluffy chick where the small baby looks very different. the little 1 doesn’t act sickly at all. They are acting the same. I grind their food to almost a powder, heat is 95°-97° & they get Nutri Drench in their water. Any ideas what could be going on or anything I could do to help it?
Thanks so much!

 

[2ndTink]

I've had some small chicks, sometimes they catch up, sometimes they stay small their whole lives, and sometimes it seems to be an indicator something is wrong. It sounds like you are doing what they need. Along with the Nitri-drench water, I'd offer them a separate plain water option, or alternate days with it.

I'll tag a couple serama lovers, they may have more info!

@fluffycrow @WoDia

 

[fluffycrow]

How old are they? The little chick does look poorly in the photos, but if you say it's acting fine, then it might just be a momentary thing. Its wings look to be developing OK, they're just not developing at the same rate as the older chick. Keep an eye on it, and see if things start getting worse.



From the photos it looks like the little chick hasn't mastered balancing itself. Make sure that it's eating and drinking, and as Tink says, it might be a good idea to also offer normal water. The chick might be getting most of its energy from the electrolytes, and not food

 

[WoDia]

@Karilcole follow what @2ndTink has suggested. One dish plain water. One dish vitamin water. You can also give Gamebird Crumble for the higher protein. I start my Serama chicks with that… or a mix of the Gamebird and Chick Starter. Don’t offer any treats. They don’t need them at that age. Time will tell with the tiniest one. Sometimes, one can look way too tiny… even sickly… during its first days. It could possibly be a micro-class. Here are what a few of my micros looked like. Please keep us updated.

Edited: to correct spelling.

 

[Karilcole]

I've had some small chicks, sometimes they catch up, sometimes they stay small their whole lives, and sometimes it seems to be an indicator something is wrong. It sounds like you are doing what they need. Along with the Nitri-drench water, I'd offer them a separate plain water option, or alternate days with it.

I'll tag a couple serama lovers, they may have more info!

@fluffycrow @WoDia

Thank you so much! It was the smallest to hatch so I figured it would stay small but the feathering (or lack of) made me worry. I thought it was a goner at about 5 days old but it’s acting like a chicken so must be ok as of now. LoL

 

[Karilcole]

How old are they? The little chick does look poorly in the photos, but if you say it's acting fine, then it might just be a momentary thing. Its wings look to be developing OK, they're just not developing at the same rate as the older chick. Keep an eye on it, and see if things start getting worse.



From the photos it looks like the little chick hasn't mastered balancing itself. Make sure that it's eating and drinking, and as Tink says, it might be a good idea to also offer normal water. The chick might be getting most of its energy from the electrolytes, and not food

Thank you so much! Friday they will be 2 weeks old. I didn’t realize the water thing. I will put plain water in there also. It does whatever the bigger 1 does (eats, drinks, takes a nap). Literally follows it around but it gets the tiny to eat & drink so that’s good. LoL

 

[Karilcole]

@Karilcole follow what @2ndTink has suggested. One dish plain water. One dish vitamin water. You can also give Gamebird Crumble for the higher protein. I start my Serama chicks with that… or a mix of the Gamebird and Chick Starter. Don’t offer any treats. They don’t need them at that age. Time with tell with the tiniest one. Sometimes, one can look way too tiny… even sickly… during its first days. It could possibly be a micro-class. Here are what a few of my micros looked like. Please keep us updated.

View attachment 3886266View attachment 3886267

Awww so adorable & fluffy! This tiny was from the smallest egg that hatched. They will be 2 weeks on Friday & the tiny still hasn’t ’fluffed up’. It doesn’t have the fluff to fluff. LoL. The heat stays above 93°, usually about 95°. I have them on the game bird & normal chick crumble that I grind to almost a powder. Could I be grinding it too much?
Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[WoDia]

Awww so adorable & fluffy! This tiny was from the smallest egg that hatched. They will be 2 weeks on Friday & the tiny still hasn’t ’fluffed up’. It doesn’t have the fluff to fluff. LoL. The heat stays above 93°, usually about 95°. I have them on the game bird & normal chick crumble that I grind to almost a powder. Could I be grinding it too much?
Thank you so much for your advice!

What you can do is grind some up and mix it with the unground crumbles. That gives each one a choice. Also, don’t worry about the tiny one and the fluff. It can take a while. That’s not abnormal to see with my Serama chicks. The 2 in my photos were all wing feathers for a long time, before the rest filled in. Here’s my princess (chick photo #2), Seasons. You can see how she was all wings for a good while.

9 days old

13 days old

27 days old

3 months old

Post more photos as your tiny ones feather-in! Adorable!

 

[Karilcole]

What you can do is grind some up and mix it with the unground crumbles. That gives each one a choice. Also, don’t worry about the tiny one and the fluff. It can take a while. That’s not abnormal to see with my Serama chicks. The 2 in my photos were all wing feathers for a long time, before the rest filled in. Here’s my princess (chick photo #2), Seasons. You can see how she was all wings for a good while.

9 days old
View attachment 3886412

13 days old
View attachment 3886413

27 days old
View attachment 3886415

3 months old
View attachment 3886416

Post more photos as your tiny ones feather-in! Adorable!

Cuteness overload!! Thanks for your response! I will try that w/ their food & see how it goes! Is it just me or does your lil princess look a lot like my big 1? LoL I’m so curious to know what it will look like as an adult…more then I am curious if it’s a he or she

 

[WoDia]

You’re right @Karilcole! Seasons did start out a lot like your biggest one. I’m going to love seeing how both of yours feather-out. Aren’t Serama chicks some of the cutest little chicks ever?! I had 1 (chipmunk stripe) hatch yesterday in the incubator. I placed it under the mama (she immediately accepted it), and her 2nd (under her now) will be hatching in the next few days. Plus, I have her other 3 internally pipped in the incubator. I took 4 from her, since she’s too tiny to cover all 5 eggs adequately. And, she’s a 1st-time mama, so I wasn’t certain whether she’d even stay on the nest the entire time. She turned out to be excellent, like the rest of my Serama broodies. I keep telling myself no more chicks this year. Well, after this brood no more “chicken” chicks this year… only King and Bobwhite quail.