Silkie Chick 1 month old

[ecb4156]

I purchased a silkie chick one month ago and she doesn't seem to be growing.. she has just very little. she is still as small as the palm of my hand. See picture below. I'm not sure what to do exactly. she is so small lol. thanks for any tips y'all can give me!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @ecb4156 Welcome To BYC

Cute chick!
What are you feeding your chick?
Where did she come from? Is she supposed to be a standard or bantam?

You mention that she is small and not growing - are you comparing her size to another Silkie her age? Have you weighed her to see if she's gaining weight?
I plenty of feather grow (new feathers coming in). If she is eating/drinking, active, acting normal, not getting picked on, then I would just let her be and see how it goes.

 

[ecb4156]

She is eating dumor starter grower crumbles along with some other chicks I have in with her. They are all the same age and they have matured like all of my older ones have even my little bantams grew faster than her. I got her from southern states so I’m not sure if she was supposed to be standard or bantam. They just had “Silkie straight run” on the sign. She seems to act perfectly fine. She is just sooooooo small that it worries me. I’ve been comparing her to the pictures of when I got her. She has maybe gotten a tiny little inch on her since. My main concern is if she is taking longer to grow then I don’t want to just throw her in the big coop when her buddies are mature and she’s still a little baby. I just don’t want her to get hurt :/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she the only Silkie?

There's not much you can do really but monitor her - weigh her weekly to see if she's gaining. I would aim for the starter/grower to be at least 18% protein or higher. You could give her poultry vitamins once a week for a boost as well.
If she's eating/drinking and otherwise normal - she's just growing at her own rate.
I've never had Silkies, but a lot of people house them separately since they may be prone to being picked on. If she is will a group of youngsters then I would be inclined to keep her with them and see how it goes with integration, but a lot depends on space, the personality of your adults that you are introducing them to as well.

 

[ecb4156]

Is she the only Silkie?

There's not much you can do really but monitor her - weigh her weekly to see if she's gaining. I would aim for the starter/grower to be at least 18% protein or higher. You could give her poultry vitamins once a week for a boost as well.
If she's eating/drinking and otherwise normal - she's just growing at her own rate.
I've never had Silkies, but a lot of people house them separately since they may be prone to being picked on. If she is will a group of youngsters then I would be inclined to keep her with them and see how it goes with integration, but a lot depends on space, the personality of your adults that you are introducing them to as well.

How does one weigh a chick? She is the only silkie. Should I get two more to put with her?

 

[danceswithronin]

She could just be a runt. I had a flock of four silkies last summer and one of them was always half as small as the rest. She never had any health issues that I could tell (ate/drank/pooped normally, good body weight proportional to her size) and I never saw her getting picked on, she was just always small. We called her Short Round.

 

[ecb4156]

She could just be a runt. I had a flock of four silkies last summer and one of them was always half as small as the rest. She never had any health issues that I could tell (ate/drank/pooped normally, good body weight proportional to her size) and I never saw her getting picked on, she was just always small. We called her Short Round.

So should I get other silkies to go with her in their own coop?

 

[danceswithronin]

So should I get other silkies to go with her in their own coop?

I feel like she would probably be happier with other silkies. Plus an all-silkie flock looks really cool anyway, and since they're bantam they don't take up much room. So yes, I would if it was me, lol.

 

[ecb4156]

I feel like she would probably be happier with other silkies. Plus an all-silkie flock looks really cool anyway, and since they're bantam they don't take up much room. So yes, I would if it was me, lol.

Okay! Thank you! I just worry about her being trampled lol

 

[danceswithronin]

Okay! Thank you! I just worry about her being trampled lol

You won't regret it, they are such a wonderful breed, I'm already regretting selling my silkie flock and it's only been a few weeks. But I was afraid the large breed fowl I was getting (mostly English Orpingtons) would be too rough with them.