Hello! I have my first flock of chickens and they are currently a little over 5 weeks old. One of the chicks, a brahma is much smaller than the others. I got them as one day olds, and she was the largest chick, but since a few days into the first week she's always been the smallest. Most everyone has told me that brahmas grow slow so I assumed it was normal. Cut to week five and she's easily half the size of everyone else. Until today though, she had zero other problems. She was feisty and quick to come up to me for snacks, and definitely the fastest of them.
Last night she was fine, came to me for treats (just her normal food mixed with water. the others got a little bit of grape but she doesn't seem to like fruit) and got mad at me when I ran out. I went into the garage this afternoon and she was sleeping under the roost, didn't think much of it. Poked my head in a few hours later and she was in the same position. All the other chicks are acting completely normal. She's not being picked on at all.
All they have access to is the Meyer hatchery chick food and clean water. They have pine shavings in the brooder, and the heat lamp is @ 73 degrees. The bigger girls probably don't need it because they're fully feathered, I kept it there because Moira (sick chick) was so small I just wasn't sure. I was planning to keep them all in the brooder until she got a bit bigger.
I went to tractor supply and they told me to get rooster booster electrolyte stuff, I did, mixed it with water, and keep making her drink little bits. I've got her in a separate box with pine shavings, hoping she'll poop so I can compare that to things I've read. So far, no poop in the brooder that looks abnormal though. Her eyes are closed but when I forcer her to drink she opens them and they look normal. Her vent is clear. She's making little peeping noises and trills. I feel like I'm just irritating her enough to keep her alive. Any advice? All I have is rooster booster, which I've mixed as per instructions and forced some drops into her. I also still have another pack of the powder Meyer hatchery sends that you mix in their water for the first several days. I don't have anything else until Tractor supply opens in the morning if she's still alive. Any advice? Any information you need that I've missed?
Last night she was fine, came to me for treats (just her normal food mixed with water. the others got a little bit of grape but she doesn't seem to like fruit) and got mad at me when I ran out. I went into the garage this afternoon and she was sleeping under the roost, didn't think much of it. Poked my head in a few hours later and she was in the same position. All the other chicks are acting completely normal. She's not being picked on at all.
All they have access to is the Meyer hatchery chick food and clean water. They have pine shavings in the brooder, and the heat lamp is @ 73 degrees. The bigger girls probably don't need it because they're fully feathered, I kept it there because Moira (sick chick) was so small I just wasn't sure. I was planning to keep them all in the brooder until she got a bit bigger.
I went to tractor supply and they told me to get rooster booster electrolyte stuff, I did, mixed it with water, and keep making her drink little bits. I've got her in a separate box with pine shavings, hoping she'll poop so I can compare that to things I've read. So far, no poop in the brooder that looks abnormal though. Her eyes are closed but when I forcer her to drink she opens them and they look normal. Her vent is clear. She's making little peeping noises and trills. I feel like I'm just irritating her enough to keep her alive. Any advice? All I have is rooster booster, which I've mixed as per instructions and forced some drops into her. I also still have another pack of the powder Meyer hatchery sends that you mix in their water for the first several days. I don't have anything else until Tractor supply opens in the morning if she's still alive. Any advice? Any information you need that I've missed?
