I have 8 chicks. They were all purchased at the same time, and they were all in the same shipment from Ideal to my farm store. (was there when they opened the boxes) There is one little chickwho just does not seem to be growing like the others. They are 10 days old and the others have all got a lot of wing feathers and some tail feathers. This one looks nearly unchanged from when I got it. It has wing feathers only along the edge of it's wings, no tail feathers and it's's a bit smaller than everybody else. It's one of my three BRs and the others are on par with the rest of the chicks. I bought one BR pullet, and the other two were straight run, and the runt is one of the straight run pair. The other has kept pace with the other BR.
I've read here that roosters feather out later than hens, but I have one definite rooster Welsummer (at least the hatchery seems to think so) and he's on par with the rest of the girls in development.
Are BR roosters slower to develop than those of other breeds? Do Welsummer cockerels tend to keep pace with the pullets? Or do I just have a runt? Should I be concerned that I have a sick chick?
S/he seems to be a tad sleepier than the rest, but s/he eats drinks and poops just fine and does play with the others and seems active and happy.
Should I just quit worrying??
Edited to add: I forgot to mention it does seem to hang it's beak open like it's panting once in a while. The other chicks don't do that. It's not too warm. (if anything it's a tad on the chilly side, but they seem to be happier at 85 than at 90. They were all hiding on the other side of the brooder when it was 90)
I've read here that roosters feather out later than hens, but I have one definite rooster Welsummer (at least the hatchery seems to think so) and he's on par with the rest of the girls in development.
Are BR roosters slower to develop than those of other breeds? Do Welsummer cockerels tend to keep pace with the pullets? Or do I just have a runt? Should I be concerned that I have a sick chick?
S/he seems to be a tad sleepier than the rest, but s/he eats drinks and poops just fine and does play with the others and seems active and happy.
Should I just quit worrying??
Edited to add: I forgot to mention it does seem to hang it's beak open like it's panting once in a while. The other chicks don't do that. It's not too warm. (if anything it's a tad on the chilly side, but they seem to be happier at 85 than at 90. They were all hiding on the other side of the brooder when it was 90)
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