What can I feed to help put weight on this chick?

[KikiDeAnime]

Pic? Immediate rhought is FtT, which you can't fix anyways

I'm getting a pic right now

 

[KikiDeAnime]

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Looks like Failure to Thrive to me. The ones I get look similar

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Looks like Failure to Thrive to me. The ones I get look similar

Well I'm still going to try what I can

 

[Perris]

Yes. They get build ups around organs, not as a general layer of fat. It's part of what causes fatty liver disease and why black oil sunflower seeds and meal worms aren't good for more than just treats

That is false. Try to find ANY assertion of it in a modern avian reference book. FLHS is associated with feeding carbs - the corn in your so-called complete feed - NOT with feeding fatty foods like live mealworms. Further, there is a link in my article on wholesome home made feed to an article for vets recommending food like insects as much as the majority of the diet for a sick bird; what matters is to get them eating, whatever they will.

And if you prefer an independent source, try this
Mercola, J.; D’Adamo, C.R. Linoleic Acid: A Narrative Review of the Effects of Increased Intake in the Standard American Diet and Associations with Chronic Disease. Nutrients 2023, 15, 3129. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15143129

It's about the human diet, but chickens and chicken feed get mentioned too. e.g. "However, olive oil demonstrated a nearly 10-fold wide variability in the percentage of LA and the vast majority of commercial olive oil, and avocado oils, are adulterated with seed oils. A recent study evaluated 89 olive cultivars and found a range of 3% to 27% levels of LA [142]. Tests have also revealed that anywhere from 60 to 90% of the olive oils sold in American grocery stores and restaurants are adulterated with cheap, oxidized, omega-6vegetable oils, such as sunflower oil or peanut oil, or nonhuman-grade olive oils, which are harmful to health in a number of ways [143]. Although this problem is concerning, instead of avoiding all cooking oils (e.g., vegetable and seed oil), healthier choices include those that have been used for centuries, such as butter and beef tallow. In addition to containing the lowest LA content, these sources of fats also provide the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K2....animals with one stomach, such as chickens and pigs, that when fed a diet high in LA, including corn and soy, experience an increase in high levels of LA in their tissues, similar to the process that has been observed in humans [150]"

To the op @KikiDeAnime ; offer your chick meat, fish, bread-soaked milk, whatever it will eat. There is a section on food for invalids in my article.

 

[homesteading101]

Well I'm still going to try what I can

All my young babies get fed oats with their starter feed and they do great. However they may not touch the dry oats because they don't know what it is, that's why I start young

 

[Debbie292d]

If it were mine, absolutely cut out ANYTHING other than it's grower feed and make that into mash by adding water. Then alternate fresh water one day, vitamin water one day, and probiotic/electrolyte water one day.

 

[Debbie292d]

Yes. They get build ups around organs, not as a general layer of fat. It's part of what causes fatty liver disease and why black oil sunflower seeds and meal worms aren't good for more than just treats

If black oil sunflowers were bad, mine would be dead. That is all we have in our 7 wild bird feeders and the birds spill them. The chickens come clean up, every day. They aren't fat and some are around 6 years old One old witch I wish would die though lol.

Plus, BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) are high in Vit E, Selenium, and protein. Things silkies need and anyone with wry neck issues.

 

[pinewoodacres]

View attachment 3758184View attachment 3758185View attachment 3758186

Any update? Unfortunately, any that I’ve had that looked like that last picture didn’t make it but another day or two. :/