the Little one

[carolinasculpture]

Hi! I have 7 chicks. 3 are 3 weeks old and 4 are 2 weeks old. All seem to be doing well, but there is one that is noticeably smaller than all the rest. She is very out going and is the first to run over any time I come near the brooder. She seems to be eating and drinking well. She was about the same size as the others in her enclosure when we got her and about the same size as the others we brought home that day...she is just still pretty small. She is a BR. The others are an EE, 2 RIR, 1 black Australorp, and 2 Leghorns. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[b.hromada]

Lets bump this one up for you!

 

[Manda0227]

I have a littler one than the others too. She's always been that way though, Im just assuming its maybe because she's a different breed. She's eating, drinking, pooping, ect. She even has more feather development than the others. Maybe some chicks just are just smaller? Im still new to all this, but any time I've ever been to a vet they always say "as long as they're eating/drinking/pooping ect there's nothing to be alarmed about".

 

[Kmf]

My BR is also the smallest of my new little flock. She is eating, drinking and running around and looks healthy, she's just smaller than the rest. Besides her I have 3 EE, 2 GLW, 1 SLW, 1 RIR, 1 BO and 1 ISA Brown. I was a little concerned too, but maybe they just grow slower than the rest.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Hi! Thanks! I am still kinda concerned. She seems a little lethargic from time to time, but maybe I am just over sensitive because she is little. She also had a funky watery poo today.... Hoping for the best. I am going to try some garlic for her today. Any other ideas?

 

[Hockeychick]

Hi, I don't know a whole lot about chickens, but I can just tell you my own experience. I have 41 almost 6-week old chicks. At 2 weeks, I noticed an EE who was not growing like the others. She was active and eating normally, but didn't look like she was growing. One thing I noticed is that she had trouble picking little pieces of food from my hand, or poor Beak-Eye coordination. (Is there such a thing??) We switched to Purina chick feed, which is larger than the original food, and she has been thriving.

Well, she is nearly 6 weeks old and is growing fabulously. Maybe she is a bantam? In any event, I will not be surprised if she ends up being toward the top of the pecking order. I was very worried about her, but I think she is perfectly healthy, but just a little smaller.

I had posted a similar thread, and the advice given to me was just to make sure that she has adequate access to food and water, because the larger chickens maybe be pushing her away from the food and water.

Here she is with her 'big' sister: