curiouseclectic
Chirping
Hello!
I have four Bielefelder chicks who are just about to turn 8 weeks old at the end of this week and I am hoping to get them outside permanently. I've been putting them in their coop/run during the day (weather permitting) for the past few weeks preparation. I'm in Pittsburgh and the lows at night are finally settling into the 50s.
Everything should be fine, as they are fully feathered etc., but one of the chicks (Mushroom) is waaaaay behind the others in terms of development. She's about half the size and not feathering out at the same rate. She had to have a hobble to straighten out her leg early on and never seemed to catch up.
My question is, is she okay at this level of feathering to withstand the 50s at night? I would ideally not like to separate her from the rest of the flock because she becomes distressed and eats less when she is away from the others, and obviously the rest of the birds are more than ready to go outside and I don't want to hold them back.
(For size comparison - Mushroom sitting in coop door with Fennel and Dill below)
Has anyone dealt with a chick this behind heading outside permanently before? Any advice would be great. During the day she hangs out with the others outside just fine and they've never (so far anyway) picked on her. I would say she's been out there in the low 60s while huddled down in the sun.
I'm also aware that she there could be a million of things wrong with little Mushroom, she may not make it, failure to thrive, etc. But I'm trying to give her the best chance possible! Thanks!
I have four Bielefelder chicks who are just about to turn 8 weeks old at the end of this week and I am hoping to get them outside permanently. I've been putting them in their coop/run during the day (weather permitting) for the past few weeks preparation. I'm in Pittsburgh and the lows at night are finally settling into the 50s.
Everything should be fine, as they are fully feathered etc., but one of the chicks (Mushroom) is waaaaay behind the others in terms of development. She's about half the size and not feathering out at the same rate. She had to have a hobble to straighten out her leg early on and never seemed to catch up.
My question is, is she okay at this level of feathering to withstand the 50s at night? I would ideally not like to separate her from the rest of the flock because she becomes distressed and eats less when she is away from the others, and obviously the rest of the birds are more than ready to go outside and I don't want to hold them back.
(For size comparison - Mushroom sitting in coop door with Fennel and Dill below)
Has anyone dealt with a chick this behind heading outside permanently before? Any advice would be great. During the day she hangs out with the others outside just fine and they've never (so far anyway) picked on her. I would say she's been out there in the low 60s while huddled down in the sun.
I'm also aware that she there could be a million of things wrong with little Mushroom, she may not make it, failure to thrive, etc. But I'm trying to give her the best chance possible! Thanks!