Runt Chick?

[EggSighted4Life]

Sorry, I totally forgot! Here's the pictures.

View attachment 1104344 View attachment 1104346 View attachment 1104347

You're right, they look nothing like the pics I see of Buttercup chicks.

Possibly production reds or the like. Definitely cute babies.

Pic # 2, I'm not seeing tail feathers or is it an optical illusion? No tail compared to siblings is ALWAYS boy in my experience.

In my stag pen, I have a year old boy, grow outs about 4 months old (1 set of 6 NN Turken plus 2 separate individual from unrelated batches), grow out 4 Silkie boys about 3 months old, And my main guy will call chicks to the treats he finds and they go under the fence to enjoy them. Teen boys are NOT roosters, they are raging hormonal idiots, and act as such.

People say don't name your boys if you're going to process them or don't get attached. For me, some get names and some become more endearing than others. At the end of the day, when we need to process... we understand that it is the circle of life and for us to eat SOMETHING must die (even if it was only a head of lettuce). Any who we are very attached to, will be sent to someone else for processing and to feed their family. That goes for old hens as well. My daughter and I are somehow uncomfortable about eating hens that have been with us a while. But no reason they can't be made use of before their body shuts down and becomes ashes to ashes and dust to dust... everything come from the earth and returns to it in one form or another. I'm not saying what's right for me is right for you... just sharing that it is OK to care for an animal and still let it be part of the food chain. Or trying to encourage you or possibly help make your decision a little easier come that time.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[DesertBird]

You're right, they look nothing like the pics I see of Buttercup chicks.

Possibly production reds or the like. Definitely cute babies.

Pic # 2, I'm not seeing tail feathers or is it an optical illusion? No tail compared to siblings is ALWAYS boy in my experience.

In my stag pen, I have a year old boy, grow outs about 4 months old (1 set of 6 NN Turken plus 2 separate individual from unrelated batches), grow out 4 Silkie boys about 3 months old, And my main guy will call chicks to the treats he finds and they go under the fence to enjoy them. Teen boys are NOT roosters, they are raging hormonal idiots, and act as such.

People say don't name your boys if you're going to process them or don't get attached. For me, some get names and some become more endearing than others. At the end of the day, when we need to process... we understand that it is the circle of life and for us to eat SOMETHING must die (even if it was only a head of lettuce). Any who we are very attached to, will be sent to someone else for processing and to feed their family. That goes for old hens as well. My daughter and I are somehow uncomfortable about eating hens that have been with us a while. But no reason they can't be made use of before their body shuts down and becomes ashes to ashes and dust to dust... everything come from the earth and returns to it in one form or another. I'm not saying what's right for me is right for you... just sharing that it is OK to care for an animal and still let it be part of the food chain. Or trying to encourage you or possibly help make your decision a little easier come that time.

Thanks for sharing!

They all seem to have tail feathers now. But it could definitely still be a boy. lol And yes, my cockerel's/teen boys are horrible. My poor pullets run from them, and I "beat" them off with sticks, rakes, etc. (I just put it in front of their chest so they can't pass and gently push and they jump away like it's an electric fence ) but they still come at me, biting my boots.

As for an update on the little runt, I'm super worried - it constantly peeps, tries to hide under the other chicks, seems to get cold easily (it's over 100 here), and the poor things' legs seem weaker than the others? I'm not sure how to explain it. It seems to get around okay, when it wants to move or is following it's siblings (it's very dependent on them, follows at least one of them constantly, doesn't like being picked up alone, etc.) but when I pick it up, it's legs just seem to fragile compared to the other chicks'. I saw one of it's little poops today, too, and it was a paler color than the others.

Should I post this somewhere else? Could this be a disease?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sounds like the chick may just be a weaker chick. Its should NOT be disease because those are hatchery chicks. But sometimes there are genetic things going on inside that we can't see that might inhibit nutrient absorption or other bodily functions.

I don't worry about a poo being paler because they don't all look the same. Each poo may be different, especially if they get access to range or other plants or feed and then there are the really nasty cecal poos.

And seem like we all have slightly different tolerances for temperature and such. I had a broody chick that was smaller and colder, always peeping asking mama to slow the foraging and warm her up. She seemed very unhappy. Well, it didn't take long (a couple weeks) before a predator (possibly even other flock members) singled out the weak link and shut her up when I was gone for the day. The other 2 chicks always thrived and seemed much more content than that poor baby which of course was the cutest of the bunch.

The constant peeping could be a constant tummy ache (or the like), or some other thing that we can't sense. Sorry I can't remember everything we discussed but for the sake of saving time I will just suggest that you could provide a short term dose of vitamins and probiotics. Some people swear by Poultry Nutri Drench, which I have.. but I like the regular bird vitamins I bought for way cheaper just as much.

For standard laying, no big deal. But IF I were breeding I would make sure and not breed that chick. I breed only the healthiest and the strongest and wouldn't want whatever has this chick struggling passed on to future generations.

It won't hurt to post your question somewhere else, and you might get more answers. Hope she pulls through and becomes content!

 

[Ptrow86]

I do. She just seems to be a little weaker than the others - it's kinda hard for me to explain. I keep them cool with a little rock I wet every half hour so they can stand on it, and I leave a frozen water bottle in, and add ice cubes to the waterer every half hour, too. Once they're a little bigger, I'll be adding a small tub with half an inch to an inch of water for them to stand in. By the time they're turned out to the coop, it'll be cooling down here.

I'm having a runt problem myself. I'm sort of new and I don't know how to post a new thread. Can anyone help me?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm having a runt problem myself. I'm sort of new and I don't know how to post a new thread. Can anyone help me?

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I can try to help. Please state your concern.

 

[Ptrow86]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I can try to help. Please state your concern.

Thanks for the warm welcome.
I apologize for posting in the incorrect spot, but I'm having trouble making a new post. At any rate, I have an EE that is sweet, too sweet honestly. She eats and drinks and is growing wing feathers, but she's half the size and very very timid. She won't eat with the other ones unless she's starving.she won't eat at all when separated by herself. Wondering if there is something different I can feed her or if it is futile.she was vaccinated for the merrics (sorry for the misspell) and is on medicated crumble.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Thanks for the warm welcome.
I apologize for posting in the incorrect spot, but I'm having trouble making a new post. At any rate, I have an EE that is sweet, too sweet honestly. She eats and drinks and is growing wing feathers, but she's half the size and very very timid. She won't eat with the other ones unless she's starving.she won't eat at all when separated by herself. Wondering if there is something different I can feed her or if it is futile.she was vaccinated for the merrics (sorry for the misspell) and is on medicated crumble.

Sounds like she is just low on the pecking order. Are you comparing her size to the same breed?

 

[DesertBird]

Sounds like the chick may just be a weaker chick. Its should NOT be disease because those are hatchery chicks. But sometimes there are genetic things going on inside that we can't see that might inhibit nutrient absorption or other bodily functions.

I don't worry about a poo being paler because they don't all look the same. Each poo may be different, especially if they get access to range or other plants or feed and then there are the really nasty cecal poos.

And seem like we all have slightly different tolerances for temperature and such. I had a broody chick that was smaller and colder, always peeping asking mama to slow the foraging and warm her up. She seemed very unhappy. Well, it didn't take long (a couple weeks) before a predator (possibly even other flock members) singled out the weak link and shut her up when I was gone for the day. The other 2 chicks always thrived and seemed much more content than that poor baby which of course was the cutest of the bunch.

The constant peeping could be a constant tummy ache (or the like), or some other thing that we can't sense. Sorry I can't remember everything we discussed but for the sake of saving time I will just suggest that you could provide a short term dose of vitamins and probiotics. Some people swear by Poultry Nutri Drench, which I have.. but I like the regular bird vitamins I bought for way cheaper just as much.

For standard laying, no big deal. But IF I were breeding I would make sure and not breed that chick. I breed only the healthiest and the strongest and wouldn't want whatever has this chick struggling passed on to future generations.

It won't hurt to post your question somewhere else, and you might get more answers. Hope she pulls through and becomes content!

Thank you very much. She's still hanging in there, but she definitely is still small. I'll try some vitamins. I'm hoping she grows her feathers asap before the rain starts falling and it gets cooler - it's not an option for me to turn on the heat lamp in the pouring rain. All the others are getting their feathers in, but she's just kinda halfway there. All of my family has grown quite attached to the little runt, of course. lol

 

[Ptrow86]

Sounds like she is just low on the pecking order. Are you comparing her size to the same breed?

Sure am. She was the identical size as the rest of my ees when they came through the mail. Just a different color. I'm wondering if she could be a bantam EE

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sure am. She was the identical size as the rest of my ees when they came through the mail. Just a different color. I'm wondering if she could be a bantam EE

Even birds of the same breed from the same place might have different parents. And even same parents maybe different genes expressing themselves.

As long as she appears to be thriving, then I wouldn't worry too much.

We got one girl that wad so big we called her Gigantor.