Troubleshooting 5.5 week old chick

[bhawk-23]

I have a 5.5 week old porcelain d'uccle chick. She always seemed a bit behind the other 4 she came with. I had to grind her food to powder after I realized she was only mimicking the other chicks but not actually eating the crumble. She was always trying to tuck up under the other chicks and just followed them around.

She is vaccinated for MD since my flock has it. She had a dose of Denagard once outside because my flock also has MG.

I left for a week and hubs took care of them. The chicks were active and attacking the food when he was feeding but he does not pay attention to each one individually.

But she is not doing well. I cannot put my finger on it. I brought her inside yesterday and gave her a few drops sugar water and she perked up and ate some. I put her with the others overnight and brought her back in this morning. Gave a few more drops of sugar water again and she ate. Otherwise she wants to be with me and just sleeps.

They eat chick starter crumbles and mash.
She has no respiratory symptoms.
Grooming seems difficult but she does attempt. I am wondering if she got hurt in the commotion of the others getting excited or just didn't eat/drink enough.
I am keeping her inside for now. I'll give electrolytes in her water and make some mash with it also.

Could she just need food and water? Do I keep her separate and just put her with the others at night to avoid reintegration?

 

[azygous]

I suppose by "behind the others", you mean smaller. That might indicate she's failure to thrive. This is a genetic condition of smaller less developed organs and it generally catches up with the chick at around this age.

Her organs aren't functioning at an optimum level, and nutrients are not being properly metabolized by the liver. She doesn't get full benefit of calories and is probably always cold, so she tries to glean heat from contact with the others.

Have you tried Poultry Nutri-drench? This is formulated to by-pass needing to be metabolized by the liver so gets into her blood stream straight away.

Feeding special foods high in easy to digest protein will help a chick like this. Crumbled tofu, minced boiled egg can help give her growth a boost.

 

[bhawk-23]

I suppose by "behind the others", you mean smaller. That might indicate she's failure to thrive. This is a genetic condition of smaller less developed organs and it generally catches up with the chick at around this age.

Her organs aren't functioning at an optimum level, and nutrients are not being properly metabolized by the liver. She doesn't get full benefit of calories and is probably always cold, so she tries to glean heat from contact with the others.

Have you tried Poultry Nutri-drench? This is formulated to by-pass needing to be metabolized by the liver so gets into her blood stream straight away.

Feeding special foods high in easy to digest protein will help a chick like this. Crumbled tofu, minced boiled egg can help give her growth a boost.

I have chick boost, not nutri-drench. I'll get some today. She is not interested in the scrambled egg, just the ground crumbles.

Everything you are describing makes sense, her behaviors and growth rate. When I left the heat was higher and I was watching her really close. She was doing well.
When I came home she would jump in my hand and happily nuzzle into my neck which was probably warmth and not her adoration or missing me(super bummed at this realization).

Since bringing her inside this morning and giving her the first few drops of sugar water and extra heat she is slowly becoming more and more active again. Eating like crazy and I saw her take a couple sips of the water.

So where do I go from here? Is she doomed to make it in my MG and MD flock or can she catch up with extra care eventually? And how do I reintegrate her with the rest after she improves? This is the little one I picked out to replace my Taco. I am super attached to her over any of the other chicks. I will do everything I can if there is even a slight chance. Thanks!

 

[azygous]

It's in her favor, and yours, that she's made it this far. Severe FTT chicks usually die in the first two weeks.

I've successfully nurtured a FTT chick to adulthood feeding tofu as a treat each day for all of the chicks. I never removed a chick from her mates except when hopelessly sick. Even a severely injured chick was left with her mates while recovering. They do so much better with the others, and when I fed the tofu with Nutri-drench sprinkled over it, all of the chicks got some. This tactic actually stimulates the weak chick to eat whereas if left alone, they have a much poorer appetite.

That FTT chick never did achieve full size, and I had to rehome it since I raised it for someone else. The little male did fine except it was so small it got out of the run and was picked off by a predator.

 

[bhawk-23]

I am picking up the nutri drench in a few (love the drive thru order pick ups now!) and can see an improvement already with just the extra heat, water and food. She is staying close to the heat so that is definitely tell tale of the temp being too cold for her in their coop. I will keep her inside and feed the nutri drench and tofu until dark and send her back out with the others while they are sleeping. She is eating the ground crumble, drinking, preening and pooping like a chick should be.

Thanks so much! I was actually considering a house chicken if she was not going to be able to be outside. Hubs would have loved that one

 

[bhawk-23]

@azygous

Little fluffy is doing quite well after some time inside during the day to warm up and eat like crazy. I am giving the diluted nutri drench in all their mash and water and I upped the temps just a bit. She is even standing up for herself again like she did before I left.

I'm attaching a picture of her beak. It's always looked a bit different to me but it was not crooked so I didn't really fret. But could this be an issue in the future and possibly why she prefers the ground up crumbles? Thanks!

And one to show her adorable fluffy cheeks She likes to come inside in the morning for a quick grooming session on us in front of the heat. She goes back out after some snuggles. Lol

 

[azygous]

She is irresistible. I want her.

Yes. Trim that upper beak. Yes, she will need frequent beak trimming going forward.

Here's a tip. Wrap her in a towel to confine wings and feet and leave a flap to bring over her eyes. Hold your hand firmly over this flap so she cannot see you coming at her beak with the pet nail clipper. But first, hold her up to a strong light that shines through her beak so you can locate the quick. That will help immensely to judge how much to remove of the tip.

Hold her as tightly as possible to prevent sudden movements. I once made a cut on a beak just as the chicken whipped her head back and the result was debilitating shock. The chicken was also traumatized and bled profusely.

 

[bhawk-23]

She is irresistible. I want her.

Isn't she though?! Lol
Trim that upper beak.

"Yes, she will need frequent beak trimming going forward."
Any idea on how often?

Here's a tip. Wrap her in a towel to confine wings and feet and leave a flap to bring over her eyes. Hold your hand firmly over this flap so she cannot see you coming at her beak with the pet nail clipper. But first, hold her up to a strong light that shines through her beak so you can locate the quick. That will help immensely to judge how much to remove of the tip.

Good tip about covering her eyes. I feel quite stupid not thinking about this in past handling of my girls.

Hold her as tightly as possible to prevent sudden movements. I once made a cut on a beak just as the chicken whipped her head back and the result was debilitating shock. The chicken was also traumatized and bled profusely.

Yeah, this will be my biggest fear. Hubs won't be home for another week or so. Is this something you would attempt on your own? My flock has MG and MD so finding someone with chicken experience to help is not an option. Would feeding her mash and ground up crumbles for another week not be advisable until I can get some help? I do watch her multiple times a day to be sure she is eating and drinking.

 

[azygous]

The beak is like hair or nails - it grows quickly and continuously. Plan on monthly trimmings.

Yes, give her wet mash until you can trim the beak. Be sure she gets rewarded for her cooperation. It sort of neutralizes the negative experience.

I have no option of a helping hand. I do all my treatment on my own, making two hands do the work of four. That's the purpose of the towel. It replaces the need for an assistant. I wrap my arm fully around the patient and use the hand on that arm to hold the wrap over the eyes and the head steady. I do this on my garage work bench which is at a comfortable height. Talking calmly to her will help a lot. Making a "sushing" sound is especially calming to an upset chicken.

 

[bhawk-23]

The beak is like hair or nails - it grows quickly and continuously. Plan on monthly trimmings.

Yes, give her wet mash until you can trim the beak. Be sure she gets rewarded for her cooperation. It sort of neutralizes the negative experience.

I have no option of a helping hand. I do all my treatment on my own, making two hands do the work of four. That's the purpose of the towel. It replaces the need for an assistant. I wrap my arm fully around the patient and use the hand on that arm to hold the wrap over the eyes and the head steady. I do this on my garage work bench which is at a comfortable height. Talking calmly to her will help a lot. Making a "sushing" sound is especially calming to an upset chicken.

Thank you. And yeah, I know I am lucky to have extra hands when he is not traveling.

I am assuming cat nail clippers since she is so tiny but then thought better of just assuming. Lol

My options on hand are cat nail clippers, giant sized dog nail clippers and an electric dog nail file. Should I purchase regular sized nail clippers?