# Baby Chick Will Not Grow - One Month Old Now



## Artemis_MA (Apr 20, 2014)

I have a baby chick who has hardly grown at all since I got him/her. (I've named it "Peter Pan", after the kid who refused to grow up.) It arrived June 24th. It's a straight run Plymouth buff rock, just like half of the shipment. 

Seriously, other than a little bit of wing feathering, the chick still has baby down, I just got a shipment in of Cornish Roaster chicks today, and she's the exact same size at they are. So I doubt she's grown at all. She looks healthy, eats and drinks like any other chick of her size - but will not GROW. 

I am certain I am going to have to cull this chick sooner or later, but I am just curious if anyone else has ever had, or ever heard, of a similar situation? I have separated her from her flock as I fear they'll just trample her, or start to pick on her.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Put her back. Not being part of a flock is very stressful for them. They run each other over all of the time when they're excited about something. In some things the little ones are tougher than we give them credit for.

As to the smallness and not appearing to be growing or feathering out, I have a Guinea keet like that right now. Baby is still with its flock. And you want to talk about trampling. Guineas are great at it. I made it a ramp so it can join the others to roost at night. 

I have upped the protein by tossing them mealworms several times a day. It might or might not help. Plus whatever they forage during the day.

This little baby has a will to live so no culling. It will get a chance to overcome its development issues.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Agreed, if the nutrition is good, it might just be genetic, maybe a little developmentally delayed, definitely needs its peer group, that's what keeps them going. Mealworms will definitely help for protein growth. Unless it's like my current baby peafowl who was the only one who hatched from his/her group. It has very much imprinted on the farm manager and myself and follows us everywhere, in and out of the farmhouse.


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## Artemis_MA (Apr 20, 2014)

Okay, she is now back with her crew. She actually seems happier that way. I think she's too small to eat mealworms yet? (Maybe if I chopped a few up? - I'll try that.) 

(Meanwhile she seems to have more energy than the new meat roaster chicks, that's for sure - but I think the new chicks, being Cornish hybrids, have that going against them...)


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I would just leave the mealworms whole. They have beaks to make food small enough to eat. 

I'm not surprised she's happier being back with the others. That's how chickens are, they hate being alone. 

It could be that the cornish are still resting up having just gotten there.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

The mealworms are great, you can also scramble up an egg for her. Just remember, Too much protein will cause constipation and could cause an abnormal growth rate in some parts of her body (eg: one leg longer than the other). On the flip side, they can take a lot of protein, 20% of their diet can be protein.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Protein and some greens for moisture and fiber. If the bird is lagging developmentally, you are unlikely to burn it with the protein. I've had luck with, (believe it or not, an old gamefowl nutrition tip for sick birds), catfish floating food pellets from farm supply places like Tractor Supply. They smell funky but are 38 percent protein and I've never had a bird not eat it. Just crush some up and moisten if needed. But try the eggs and mealworms first.


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## Artemis_MA (Apr 20, 2014)

Thanks for all the suggestions and I will bookmark this thread in case this happens again. 

Unfortunately, yesterday I found that the little chick had died overnight. She'd been quite active Saturday, so not certain what happened.


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## Artemis_MA (Apr 20, 2014)

robin416 said:


> I would just leave the mealworms whole. They have beaks to make food small enough to eat.
> 
> I'm not surprised she's happier being back with the others. That's how chickens are, they hate being alone.
> 
> It could be that the cornish are still resting up having just gotten there.


Re the Cornish chicks - they are in full vigor now!!!!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you wanted. Actually none of us do. 

There is a condition called failure to thrive. I've never delved deeply into it but it usually matches up with peeps like yours. Just know, you gave it what it needed but something was wrong and it just couldn't overcome it.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

So sorry for your loss.


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## Artemis_MA (Apr 20, 2014)

robin416 said:


> I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you wanted. Actually none of us do.
> 
> There is a condition called failure to thrive. I've never delved deeply into it but it usually matches up with peeps like yours. Just know, you gave it what it needed but something was wrong and it just couldn't overcome it.


Thank you. I'll keep this in mind going forward.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You may never see this again. I've raised hundreds of chicks and never encountered it until this one keet. It's still alive but still not growing.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

I agree with Robin, you seldom see FTV in mainstream breeds of chickens or your local barnyard crosses. Regrettably, I see it occasionally in the rarer breeds because they are inbred, overbred etcetera. Chickens like every other animal do best when they have some genetic diversity, though that is not the case here.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I am sorry for your loss, it's hard to lose them at all but it's harder when they are little and you tried so hard. *hug*


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## Artemis_MA (Apr 20, 2014)

It was so strange. Nutrition kept going in, but the animal didn't develop at all (except for the beginnings of wing feathers). Until the last, she or he was a trooper. Her siblings are all going outside in two weeks from today. I don't think buff rocks are that rare, but I do understand problems with being too inbred.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And that might be what is going on with my keet. I don't know the genetics since I bought the original birds from a private breeder.

I'm seeing the same thing with this tiny keet. Wing feathers that are bigger than the baby's body. And it tires quickly. Quite frankly I'm surprised Baby is still alive.


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## LisaO (May 16, 2020)

I'm so sorry your little chick died! That's especially hard when you take so much care to nurture them. I wanted to say that I had a similar experience, although maybe less extreme, and my chick didn't die. I had one out of a group of the same kind of chicks hatched at the same time that just stayed small and his wing feathers grew really slowly. I had them all on Corid because I thought one of another group of chicks that were together with him had coccidia. I was initially feeding medicated chick starter and then switched to Corid in their water to give the higher recommended dose since the amount in medicated feed is considered preventative, not treatment. All of the chicks seemed fine and healthy except this one who didn't grow much, and his wings looks really odd, undeveloped and sticking out some. I had initially given them electrolytes and probiotics in their water, but the Corid instructions say not to give them anything else in their water at the same time. After taking them off Corid in the water, I again gave them electrolytes which also contain vitamins, and probiotics, and he started growing a lot. Amprolium, the ingredient in Corid, works by the drug mimicking Thiamine, an essential B vitamin. So it causes thiamine deficiency, causing the Coccidia to die. I wonder if some chicks are more sensitive to the effects of not having enough thiamine. Also, if they have coccidia or another intestinal parasite, they can eat all they want but cannot effectively absorb the nutrients because of the intestinal damage and the parasites eating their nutrients. It's possible that your little chick just couldn't get the nutrition it needed. Again, so very sorry for your loss.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

I have this issue with a couple Eastern Wild Turkey chicks right now. We are fighting the good fight but not making much growth progress, and we have lost two. I strongly suspect a genetic anomaly in this batch, (I bought the eggs from a commercial breeder). In my humble opinion, Probiotics help as much as anything in balancing out nutrition absorption issues. That and whatever protein they will eat, what have you got to lose?


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Good luck, keep us posted!


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