skinny peachicks

[hvnsnt3388]

6/20 I had 3 peachicks hatch. They are doing great living in the garden tub! But, I think I have started a bad habit. I taught them to eat by dipping my fingers in water and then into their food to make it stick to my fingers while making mommy pea noises. Yeah, I know, picture that! Well, 20+ days later, I don't think they are as plump as they should be. I can feel their breastbone and they don't feel very meaty along the side of the bone. They are on gamebird starter, free choice. They are getting vitamins added to their water one day weekly and given treats every other day (zucchini, watermellon, apple, grapes, pulverized peanuts, and bread) I don't think they are eating much on their own. Whenever I visit with them I still dip my fingers and feed them......they take it from me as if they are starving!

Any suggestions? Are they underweight?

 

[MinxFox]

I kinda want to know about this too, my peachick eats well but I can feel his/her breastbone...Is that just because chicks grow so much that they can't fill out until they are closer to being full grown or something? All I know is Peep poops a lot so I know it gets a lot of food. I have never had chicks so I would like to know too.

Oh and Peep is six weeks old.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Have you tried worming them?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

delete

 

[hvnsnt3388]

Is this a case of" too much and too late"? Or is there something I can do to fix the situation?
Minx, yours is eating well on it own? So, maybe its typical for them to feel a little skinny?
I had chicks last year but did not handle them much. They are not human friendly. I wanted to do things different this year and have a few that were a little more friendly.
My pheasants are plump, the chickens are plump the geese are plump.......

 

[MinxFox]

Okay I just felt my peachick, the chest is plump but I guess it is just the tummy were I can feel the bone a little. Yeah oh and I taught Peep how to eat ants and he/she caught a big bug today and ran in circles with it then ate it so luckily it is catching things without me having to point them out.

Peep is starting to stay in an above ground pen outside during the day.

 

[NateinFL]

I hand-raised Cricket, who is now three. When she was a baby, she liked, well she liked Crickets. That was a mistake to get her started on that, going to the feed store every other day buying crickets and meal worms, thought she was gonna starve as she didn't like the scratch we gave her but my wallet couldn't afford her tastes. She also loved string cheese and the spaghetti noodles she thought they were worms and would go nuts for that as well. Cooked eggs, ham, whatever your chick wants to eat, let it, give it a variety but just be modest in the amount you feed them. They're so much fun to raise!

 

[MinxFox]

Lol I know Peep loves spaghetti noodles! He gulps them down like crazy. We try to feed him lettuce but he eats a few pieces then wants to do something else. He really loves blueberries though, and so do the adult peafowl...If I accidently drop a blueberry outside of the fence they poke their head through the fence and grab the berry they love them so much.

 

[hvnsnt3388]

I have started wetting their crumbles. They love it that way! I haven't had to play mommie in 2 days now!!
I haven't tried spaghetti, but im gonna have to now!! I gave them figs from the tree day before yesterday and yesterday when I gave them a few more they were jumping up to steal them from my hands!! I think I will pick up some mealworms today while im out in town.

 

[Kedreeva]

On average, you're going to be able to feel their keel (the "breastbone") until they are older. Most of what you feel along the keel in game birds is muscle- the muscle used to open/close/flap their wings specifically. Peafowl have never been bred for meat, so their "breast" area is not nearly as plump as it is on, for instance, chickens. Since chicks don't use their wings much (and they haven't got anywhere to go so that's ok), the muscle is even less developed.

If you can, avoid giving them treats until they are a bit older, so that you know they are getting the correct nutrition from the start. You'll have many, many years to give them treats (they have a 20 year lifespan) if they can survive their childhood. If you -must- offer them treats, hard boiled egg yolk is the best, as it's packed with everything they need and doesn't need grit to digest. Mealworms and small crickets are also a good treat, but only if they are also eating their regular food. Bread and pasta should not be given (yet) as it's empty of nutrition and can be difficult to digest (complex carbs are not what you want to give a digestive system that is only three weeks old). Birds don't actually eat a lot over the course of a day (they may spill a lot or fling a lot around, but the amount that actually goes down their throats is small) and they eat it in small portions many times, so supplanting a serving of normal nutrition for something they can't use very well or digest properly can affect their weight.

That said, if you are comfortable that they are eating enough of their normal food and can process treats on top of that, spoil the crap out of them