runt(?) @ 3 days old -- UPDATE with 2 new Q's

[patandchickens]

I picked up my 20 chicks today from a small hatchery about 2 hrs away. All seem fine except that one of the six Golden Campines is *significantly* smaller than the others, and although he/she does eat and drink, spends most of the time standing somewhat unsteadily under the heat lamp or napping. It just doesn't seem to have the same 'zest' as the other chicks. And as I say, it is noticeably smaller than the other GCs.

I haven't the faintest idea whether it is a runt, or has had some Problem, or could even just have hatched a day or two later than the rest of the GC setting? No way to tell.

So should I be doing something and if so what?

Thanks,

Pat

 

[McGoo]

I'm no expert, but I'd say to wait and see. Just make sure it's got warmth.

ps I have one from my own hatch and got a bunch that were a couple days older. There was one from that group that was smaller and the two of them hang out together and spend more time directly under the heat lamp than the others. they are doing just fine...as far as I can tell.

So if all else seems okay, I'd say leave him/her alone and see what happens.

Good luck

 

[gritsar]

Pat, I think we MUST find some valium. Not for the chicks, for you!

I can't say much, I was the same way for the first week or so, still am sorta.
I have a definite runt in my group. She stayed under the lights more for the first week or so, but now she's as active and happy as the rest. I worry still that she just isn't gonna make it in the long run, but I don't want to borrow trouble where there really is none.
I would only step in if I saw that she was being bullied by the larger chicks.

 

[Crunchie]

I had a few chicks that I would call "failure to thrive" from my last hatch (I had a lot of incubator issues, which is I'm sure what caused the problems I had). They acted the same way; usually just standing (not laying down) under the heat lamp, not very active, looking rather lethargic & puffed up. They did eat and drink. I did lose 2. They just, well, failed to thrive. I do still have one that is much smaller than the rest--but so far it seems to be doing ok. It's a little livelier than the 2 I lost, but it's just a lot smaller than the rest of the chicks. My plan is to just continue to watch it--if it's just going to be a "runt", and isn't being picked on by any of the others, I see no need to intervene (I just won't use it to breed, he/she will just be a pet).

I do usually give a couple of drops of baby vitamins to any chicks that don't seem to be doing as well as they should. Maybe give your little one some vitamins every day for awhile, see if that helps a bit? If there's a serious issue it's not going to fix anything, but it may help give it the boost it needs if it just needs a little help!

 

[55885100]

i got 12 day old chicks 3 weeks ago and whene i first got them 1 was vary small a lot smaller then the others. at first i was worried it had to wait for the other chicks to get dune before it could get water or food but after a week and a half it was the same size as the other chicks. so i wouldent worry.

 

[Stella1964]

Hi Pat, Stella here from Seagrave. When I brought my chicks home in March, one was noticably smaller and very sleepy. I thought for sure we were going to lose her because she would rarely drink and eat, and just wanted to sleep all the time, while the others were jumping on her head and running around. I watched her to make sure the others didn't hurt her, and bit by bit she gained strength. By the 3rd day, she was up and about. Now, they're all 6 weeks old, and the little gal (she's a RIR) is still the smallest of the bunch, and the meekest too, but she's doing just fine. I have no idea why she was like that to begin with, but all that matters to me is that she's made it and the others don't treat her any differently.

Hopefully yours will be the same!

 

[patandchickens]

Thanks for all the advice! It's not that I'm horribly worried about the small Golden Campine chick, it's just that I want to make sure there isn't something I should be doing to help it. I would feel really bad if it died and then I found out that its behavior was clear warning of trouble and I could have saved it if only I had done <whatever>.

It's acting friskier and steadier today. So that is good. However, it has taken to pecking at the other chicks' eyes and vents. Sometimes they go "PEEEEEPPP!!" and hop away; mostly they just ignore it. My plan is just to keep an eye on this, but I'm giving y'all an opportunity to warn me if I should be doing anything else?

Second question - some, maybe 3-4, of the GC chicks are rather pooey around the vent, although in all of them the vent is still 'free and clear' so nothing is actually interfering with further pooping. I have read all the usual warnings about pasting up, but what nobody seems to mention is *how* crusty back there it has to be to qualify as pasting-up-that-you-should-do-something-about.

So, just keep an eye on it, or should I be washing the crusties off or whatever? The GC are the more paranoid of the chicks (also the prettiest!), so I do not want to stress them out unnecessarily.

(In contrast, the SS chicks' attitude once you pick them up is "Hmmm, warm hands, smells like food, must be ok", and the Chanteclers just give you this beady-eyed look that says "if you mess with me, large creature, someday I will be large enough to pay you back in spades, with several large tough friends too, and boy will you be sorry"

)

Hey, is there a list somewhere of "Things That You Should Worry About In Your Chicks" and an accompanying "Things That You May Notice That Are Unlikely To Be A Problem"?? If so, where, and if not, WE NEED ONE so that people like me can quit bugging y'all about stupid things

Thanks again,

Pat

 

[Stella1964]

Pat, you make me laugh!

You certainly have a way with words to create a picture! Regarding the pasting, I figured out that if the poop collects on the downy feathers on their bum, their vent is still clear to void, however, with each poop they make, more will get stuck on the existing pasty plop and will eventually block the whole area. I was paranoid about this happening, so each day I'd clean them up to avoid that problem. Also, I put grapeseed oil on their bums and surrounding feathers with a Qtip and the poop just wouldn't stick any more. Problem solved!

 

[McGoo]

Great idea on the grapeseed oil - thanks Stella.

Sounds like a healthy bunch of chicks