underdeveloped chick?

[yomama]

I have eight little chickies (and one duckling) that just turned one week yesterday. All are doing well. I received,( from MPC) what I believe to be 5 EE, 1 White Plymouth Rock, and 2 Blue Andalusians, just as I ordered.They are all supposed to be females. My concern is that one of my BA , Venus, is much smaller that everyone, including the other BA. This little one was a little less active when I first got her. I hand fed her water for a day, and she has been just as active as the others ever since. She seems to eat and drink well. I have noticed that all the other chicks are getting big and their wings seem to be doubled in size! Everyone except Venus. Below, I have some pictures of Venus, and my other Andalusian, Spunky. ( thought Spunky was going to be an EE, till many helpful people here suggested Blue Andalusian). As you can see, Venus' wings are much tinier than Spunky's. It is hard to even spread them out. Spunky's wings are large, the same size as all the other chicks I have. Any suggestions as to why she isn't growing as fast? Is this normal?


Venus at a few days old.

Spunky at a few days old. She is the yellow one in the middle, with the black dot on her wing.

This is them side by side today. Not a great pic, but the best I could get.

This is Venus' wings, They are hard to spread out. They are not full at all, and most of the feathering seems to be at the end.

Here are Spunky's wings.

 

[Gonzo]

Watch and see if its being crowded out during feeding time. I had that problem last year, and my smaller guys didn't stand a chance at dinner time.

 

[yomama]

I'm constantly spying on them, and she seems to eat fine. I have a very long feeder, so everyone could fit at the same time, if they wanted to. I could see her being scrawnier than the rest if not getting enough food, but what about the wing development?

 

[aoibheviola]

We seem to be having the same trouble with one of the six chicks we just bought last week. And, as above, our littlest chick (a Welsummer) eats well and doesn't get pushed out of the way at dinner time, and has enough water and space to run around. She does seem to be the lowest in the pecking order, but she's not starving. She's just tiny. She doesn't seem to have put on any weight since we bought her last week, and compared to the two other Welsummers in the chick family, she's not developing as well: her wing feathers aren't coming in as quickly, she's small, she spends more time (from what I can tell) lying down instead of walking around.

We're thinking that this is much to do with the fact that there's always a pecking order, and always a runt. If anybody else has any other information for us, please do let us know.

Thanks!

 

[pdsavage]

Some breeds do grow faster than others my speckled sussex grew realy slow compared to the EEs.

 

[kyeschicks]

my chicks used to grow slow

always due to an unknown reason!

 

[bigstack]

I would really watch them! I had 1 the same way. After about 2 weeks of being fine.... POOF!!! 1 night fine the next day lathargic and breathing hard ( panting) every 1 els in the brooder was fine! Just the lil runt was sick. I did everything I could but in 2 days she was gone. I hand fed and waterd gave vitamins everything. She just didn't make it. The day I was gonna cull her, she was gone by the time I got home from work.....

Saved me from having to do it. but still soooo sad!

I really wanted the lil runt to make it.

Good Luck and God Bless!

I really hope it gets better!!!!!

 

[AndreaS]

I am having the same problem with one of my salmon faverolles. They are three weeks old, and as of the end of week one, my little girl quit growing. She was about half the size of all the others (I have 5 chicks, one other salmon faverolle, one welsummer, and two EE's.).

Last week everyone else started flying and really shot up. Their wings and tail feathers all came in and little Bernice had tiny wings and no tail feathers at all! I was really worried about her. She seemed to be getting to the food just fine but I added another feeder and waterer just in case. I also started giving her a drop of poly-vi-sol baby vitamins without iron on the side of her beak once every other day or so. She was acting completely spunky and normal by the end of last week. She still naps a little more than the others but I am happy to report that by Sunday her wings were growing much more and as of yesterday, her tail feathers started to come in. I think she is about a week behind everyone else in growth, but she is doing just fine!

I also let them have a tiny bit of organic plain yogurt every few days and they love it.

Don't give up hope!

 

[KKatknap]

I have a welsummer chick who started out smaller than the other three, and is still smaller (at @ 11 weeks), but feisty as all heck. I think some are just little. This one was slower to hatch, smaller to begin with, and a little slower to develop her feathers. She is happy and healthy now, just littler.

Hope yours turns out well, too.

 

[alabamachick]

Could it be that they are different ages? Also, my bantam chicks are half the size of my rock chicks.

I'm just learning about chickens, so I dont have a lot to offer.

Hope you find out though!