Black Silkie Chick

[Chickenman1979]

My daughter talked me into ordering some black silkie chicks. They are 3 weeks old and doing great but one just seems to be so much smaller than the other 4. She is active, moves around just fine. She eats and drinks. Just concerns me because she is not growing like the others. Any suggestions?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My daughter talked me into ordering some black silkie chicks. They are 3 weeks old and doing great but one just seems to be so much smaller than the other 4. She is active, moves around just fine. She eats and drinks. Just concerns me because she is not growing like the others. Any suggestions?

Pics? Could be FtT or just a smaller individual

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've noticed when getting chicks from a hatchery that there can be a noticeable difference in the sizes of the chicks of the same breed. The older they get the more obvious that becomes. That's not just the differences in the sizes of the different sexes, it can be in chicks of the same sex. Most Silkies are bantam but bantams can come in various sizes. I don't know where you got them but it's possible that breeding flock is not all that standard in size anyway. A lot depends on the person selecting which chickens get to breed.

It is possible that something is wrong with that chick, like a failure to thrive. As long as the chick is acting healthy, it probably is healthy. I would not worry about this as long as it acts OK.

 

[Chickenman1979]

Here she is.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Here she is.

Pick her and one of the larger ones up, do they feel the same condition wise, or is she noticeably skinnier than the other chick?

 

[Chickenman1979]

She seems to be in the same condition as the other chicks just smaller. I maybe worrying over nothing and she may just be a small bird. She does “chicken stuff” and acts like the other chicks. Appreciate the help.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

She seems to be in the same condition as the other chicks just smaller. I maybe worrying over nothing and she may just be a small bird. She does “chicken stuff” and acts like the other chicks. Appreciate the help.

My bet would be she's just a smaller bird then. My FtTs always felt skeletal even when eating well

 

[Chickenman1979]

Thanks for the insights. I’ve had several broods of chicks before and never delt with Failure to Thrive before.