stunted pullet?

[otto]

Ginger is a 4 month old pullet who seems to be stunted relative to the size of the other three pullets of the same age. Now she appeard to have been ostracized be the rest of the girls. Am I looking at a slow demise of this chicken? Advise?

 

[Cuban Longtails]

It's possible she could be sick, but I wouldn't know what she was sick with. If she's smaller than the others, they may pick on her more. She could not be getting enough eat (bigger birds pushing her away), so you may want to separate her for awhile and give her free access to food.

 

[otto]

I forgot to mention that earlier today I saw her standing apart form the group eyes closed, this is in the middle of the day, whether is really nice, and this is at like 12 in the afternoon. I've not witnessed the other hens keeping her from food, but I don't follow them all day. I'll try separating her from the group for a few days to see what happens. Thanks for the comments.

 

[dlhunicorn]

There is a condition/disease called runting/stunting syndrome and it varies in the degree of pathogenicity ...I also had a bird with a milder form of this ... six months of nutritional support (malabsorption of nutrients is often involved and this means they cant absorb the nutirents from their feed properly ) did the trick for my bird... below is an article on it ... I suggest you get AviaCharge 2000 as it is one of the few complete nutritional /vit supplements I know of ( you can order online from McMurry or Strombergs) these birds will often show neurological symptoms and an additional vitE/selenium combination (human geltab>make sure the selenium does not exceed 50 MICROGRAMS and give once a week if you note that your bird is crooking its neck or walking backwards or such> mine did and this resolved the problem) Here is the article:
http://www.avian.uga.edu/documents/pip/2005/PIPJuly-Aug 2005.pdf
(The "helicopter" wing feathering shown in the photo is almost diagnostic for for one form of this syndrome however if not present this does not mean your bird does not have this... runting/stunting syndrome is more often typified by a delayed growth/size which is what my bird had)

ETA: What are you feeding her?

 

[bantymum]

I have 2 ducklings who must have this too.
I have had to keep them in at night to keep them warm and provide a good nutritional meal, and yes they also get chased away from the food by their sisters and brothers.
Maybe you need to fence them off and place them in the "health farm/retreat" and give them nice filling snacks!
good luck.
Ps thanks for the thread Denise: i had a duckling walking backwards too, she only lasted 1 night sadly.

 

[otto]

No walking backwards going on yet, but that would be interesting to see. This morning she was kept outside by the rest of the flock, but last night she was in her nest box (where the've all decided to roost) and she was in the house all by her self with access to the feed. Also, She's all "balled ep" for lack of a better, more scientific term. The temps where I live have been between the 40s-60s and the other birds are walking around tall and upright, Ginger looks more hunkered down fighting off Lake Michigan winds or something.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
I had a pullet doing this. I added some fresh garlic to the water and set up a heat lamp. She's fine now. Oh, I also added a sprinkle of DE to the food.

Chicks are contrary little creatures sometimes.

 

[otto]

On the fresh garlic do I need to cut it or just drop a whole clove in the water. I'll try the lamp as well.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
I decided upon crushing/mincing a clove into a gallon of water and cut that mixture with fresh water (I use a quart waterer). I believe I used 1/4 garlic water and 3/4 fresh. I tried to search about the garlic on here and other places but I could never find specific information, just vague mentions.

It was a shot in the dark really, because I couldn't really figure out what was wrong and I didn't want to give an antibiotic without knowing. She was poofed up like you described yours is, but she would still eat a bit and drink water. When I took her outside with the group, she would even scratch around a little. Still, she would mostly stand around all poofed up like she was cold (when I would pick her up her feet were cold).

 

[otto]

Thanks Chckngurl! I went with the garlic in the cooler last night. I'd separate her out but I am a city chicken keeper and don't really have the space for separating her from the rest of the flock, which is what i know I should do. The weather's been wet so they're all inside . I think there's a little bullying going on too.