3 week old chick not gaining weight but very active

[Jade2231]

Hello all,

I'm sorry if this has already been asked, I'm a computer illiterate & worried first-time chick owner.

I adopted 4 2 week old chicks of 4 different breeds (none Bantams):
Amrock
Rhode island red
New Hampshire red
Barnevelder

I've only had them for a week. The new Hampshire chick has not gained any weight at all during this time. The other 3 are gaining 10-15g every 2 days. They weigh around 140g while she is 88g. They are on chick starter, I give them a tiny bit of fresh veggies and dried worms every day with grit but she is the only one not interested in snacks. They get vitamins in water 2 days/week.

The chick in question, Edith, has no symptoms of illness. She falls asleep as soon as you pick her up, but is otherwise alert and active. She eats, drinks, grooms and poops normally, and us not being bullied. When the other 3 have the zoomies, Edith does her own thing, which is usually happily digging away. She does go back to the brooder plate most often, but usually only for a few minutes, not like she is sleeping for ages while the rest are awake.

Anyhow I realize they will all grow at their own speed, especially being different breeds. Having been a shy, quiet, late bloomer myself, I totally sympathize Hoever no weight gain from 2 to 3 weeks did worry me. Is there cause for concern? And how can I best help her?

Thank you all. I'm slowly sifting through the wealth of information on these forums and it is much appreciated.

Edit: added a pic and weight. She is front left. Can add a better one of her in the morning.

 

[nuthatched]

It could be that she's a runt and is behind or that she has failure to thrive, a nutrition absorption problem. If she's a runt, she may catch up, if it's failure to thrive, she likely won't.

 

[Jade2231]

Here are some other pictures. Thank you for your reply nuthatched. I thought with failure to thrive the chick doesn't eat/drink and is lethargic? Or is that a later symptom of not being to take up nutrients. How does a chick with FTT get to 3 weeks and stay active? Is it something that can occur at any point in the development process?

 

[Penpal]

You might try giving her a little kefir. By that I mean set it in a dish for everyone. Kefir is full of probiotics and really useful with digestion problems.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I thought with failure to thrive the chick doesn't eat/drink and is lethargic? Or is that a later symptom of not being to take up nutrients. How does a chick with FTT get to 3 weeks and stay active? Is it something that can occur at any point in the development process?

From my understanding FTT is something of a generic term to indicate an unknown internal factor that causes a chick to die. It can be very obvious from the start (a chick that doesn't eat and simply wastes away) or it can manifest later, i.e. in the case of a chick that just doesn't grow normally and passes from it.

 

[Jade2231]

Good news! She has started gaining weight the last 3 days Didn't want to get my hopes up at first as her weight has been fluctuating the last couple of days, but finally a whopping 11g gain today, yay!
This is her weight the last week (I weight them every morning at the same time):
8 - 89g
9 - 86
10 - 87
11 - 82
12 - 92
13 - 97
14 - 108

I gave them the kefir yesterday, thank you for the advice. Had to clean 8 feet covered in goop afterwards but it was worth it because they loved it. Edith actually kept drinking it long after the others stopped so I hope that means she got something she needed from it.

 

[user1111]

I hope everything is ok as it looks like, just in case I suggest to check his bottom below its vent, mine was not growing like its siblings but it was very active eating drinking until 2 days before its dead, I notice it was chirping almost all the time it was walking, eating and drinking but not too much and when I grab it I see his bottom very dark purple and I panic, the days before sometimes did watery poop with yellow urates, when it died their intestines were full of parasites(cestodes) and there was like black blood in the las part of its intestines which I think it was what I saw below his vent. I hope is not your case at all and your chick becomes a healthy hen. A little hug to your chick.