When to be concerned about shunned chick?

[MemoryLane]

So a friend of mine gave me 3 Belgian D'uccle chicks, and I put them with my 2 silkie chicks to raise together. But two of the Belgians and one of the silkies are sticking to each other and sleeping together for warmth, while shunning the remaining silkie and D'uccle. These two just go sit in separate corners to sleep.

Is this something I should be concerned about?

I do know one of the Belgians was abandoned by its mother, so that might be the reason it is shunned. But I don't know why they took to one Silkie and not the other. They do eat with the other Belgian and sit with him occasionally, but they are shunning the other Silkie entirely. He does seem a little weak and small so I don't know if he wasn't actually from the same hatching or if he isn't well.

 

[azygous]

It's probably not so much "shunning" going on as self isolation.

These two loners need to be carefully watched, though. A weak or sickly chick will often be pecked and bullied and then they self isolate out of self preservation. You need to figure out what's making these two chicks behave this way.

What are the ages of these chicks?
Are they as active as the others?
Do they seem wobbly on their feet?
Do they sleep more than the others?
Are these two eating as much as the others?
Do they seem to be cold, using the heat source more than the others?

 

[MemoryLane]

It's probably not so much "shunning" going on as self isolation.

These two loners need to be carefully watched, though. A weak or sickly chick will often be pecked and bullied and then they self isolate out of self preservation. You need to figure out what's making these two chicks behave this way.

What are the ages of these chicks?
Are they as active as the others?
Do they seem wobbly on their feet?
Do they sleep more than the others?
Are these two eating as much as the others?
Do they seem to be cold, using the heat source more than the others?

They ended up accepting the lone Belgain chick and it was huddled up with them to sleep all last night. The lone Silkie chick ended up coming over to them but he just slept against them on the outside of their little pile and not actually in among them.

I have seen the biggest one peck at him, but it was mainly only when I first put them together, and I haven't seen anyone pecking him since. But they act like he isn't there. They walk all over him and just bump and push past him, which seems to be affecting his feeding, as he gets too knocked about to even eat much.

The Belgian chicks are all 2 weeks old, but the one that was abandoned does appear to be a bit smaller and less active. The friend who gave it to me, told me the mother had left it alone in the rain when a storm came, so that might explain if that one is a little unwell.

I think the bigger silkie is about 3 days old. I am not sure about the lone silkie, because the seller was suggesting I take a one day old one (it was closest to the colour I had been looking for), but I decided I liked the colour of a different one, but I forgot to ask its age ( I had assumed at the time it was one of the 3 day old ones, but now I am thinking it might actually be a one day).

The silkie sleeps a lot more than the others. I literally thought he died on the way home, because I opened the box and he was just a little still heap in the corner. But he perks up and runs around for a bit, before just sleeping again.
He is quite unsteady on his feet, but the others are also constantly knocking him over. I have seen him eating, but not as much as the others.

He also feels colder to touch than the others, but he doesn't really use the heat lamp which concerns me. I think it's because he stays away from the others who also like to sleep under the heat lamp. Last night I found him sleeping in the food bowl while the others slept under the heat.

Should I just leave him with them and keep a closer eye, or separate him for a bit until he's a bit older?

I've raised several chicks before, but I've never experienced this situation.

 

[Yardmom]

How old are the Silkies now?

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hello! Can you offer the silkie chick raw yolk, some cooked meat like hamburger and some undiluted nutri drench?

It will boost his or her nutrition.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I think you need to warm him up. The others will reject him if he's cold and the situation will just get worse.

 

[azygous]

There is a neat trick to treating chicks that have fallen behind in development and weight. It eliminates the need to treat the chicks individually, which often is counter productive since chicks take their cues from their brooder mates. These special needs chicks are not processing calories efficiently, so high grade protein can give them the calories they need to be more active and to produce body heat.

@SmiYa0126 has the general idea, but give the high protein special treats to all of the chicks at once, paying close attention to making sure the two special needs chicks are getting some. Chicks that may not have an appetite will be stimulated to eat by the others excitement over the treats.

First of all, make sure they have chick size grit. Then offer crumbled tofu, minced hard boiled egg, flaked fish, etc. But be sure the texture is fine enough that there are no choking dangers.

These high protein treats must not be overdone, though, as too much protein at this age is detrimental. It will be enough for each chick to get a few bites of pure protein each day. When you see the two special needs chicks become more normal in their behavior, then you can stop the special protein feedings.

 

[MemoryLane]

How old are the Silkies now?

I am not really sure of the ages, but I am pretty sure he said the older one was 3 days old when I got it. It would be 4 days old now then.

I thought the other chick (who is being shunned) was the same age, but now I am thinking it was part of the one day hatching. That would make it two days old today.

The reason I got confused was because the advertisement didn't say their ages but when I asked about them, I was told they were all around 2 days old. I really wanted a grey one, and the seller said he only had one. When I got there the next day, he told me he actually had another grey one hatch so I could have my choice between them. But I decided to take the 3 day old one, and then saw a cute little brown/grey one and asked for that one as well.

It wasn't the day old grey one he had mentioned, so I assumed it was one of the 3 day old ones. But I realised on the way home, there might have been more 1 day old ones other than that second grey one he told me about. And I am now pretty sure, I took a one day old one.

 

[MemoryLane]

Hello! Can you offer the silkie chick raw yolk, some cooked meat like hamburger and some undiluted nutri drench?

It will boost his or her nutrition.

I only have eggs at the moment, but I can see if I'm able to grab the others as well.

 

[MemoryLane]

There is a neat trick to treating chicks that have fallen behind in development and weight. It eliminates the need to treat the chicks individually, which often is counter productive since chicks take their cues from their brooder mates. These special needs chicks are not processing calories efficiently, so high grade protein can give them the calories they need to be more active and to produce body heat.

@SmiYa0126 has the general idea, but give the high protein special treats to all of the chicks at once, paying close attention to making sure the two special needs chicks are getting some. Chicks that may not have an appetite will be stimulated to eat by the others excitement over the treats.

First of all, make sure they have chick size grit. Then offer crumbled tofu, minced hard boiled egg, flaked fish, etc. But be sure the texture is fine enough that there are no choking dangers.

These high protein treats must not be overdone, though, as too much protein at this age is detrimental. It will be enough for each chick to get a few bites of pure protein each day. When you see the two special needs chicks become more normal in their behavior, then you can stop the special protein feedings.

Oh, thank you! This was very helpful and I'll start trying it.