Does my chick have a disease or maybe a birth defect?`

[bones1949]

I am new to raising chickens so please bare with me. I have 8 Rhode Island Red chicks that are 6 weeks old. From the start one of the chicks did not grow at the same rate of the others. It eats and drinks well and is not picked on by the rest of the chicks. At 6 weeks it is only about half the size of the other chicks and has not developed it's adult feathers. A few days ago I noticed that is seems to have a bloated belly and it is almost bare of feathers under it's wings and on the belly. The bloating seems to be mostly on the right side and I can feel what seems to be the breast bone protruding on the left side of the breast. Please see the included photos.

There is no evidence of "pasty butt". Today I isolated it from the other chicks and I can see that it is pooping just fine. I'm not sure if I should keep it from the other chicks or not.

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks







For contrast, here is one of his fellow chicks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Chicks will develop at different times. If I have several of the same breed, there may be a runt or a smaller one. I think her crop may be just full of food, and it is very prominent. I see no reason to separate her from the others, or be concerned unless she looks lethargic, puffed up or hunched, or has diarrhea or blood in her poop.

 

[junebuggena]

Seems like a normal looking chick to me, some just take longer to feather in than others. The chick in the last photo is a cockerel, by the way.

 

[bones1949]

Thanks for the reply. I think the chick is normal just slower than the others, but my wife is concerned that it has a disease and might infect the others. As I said, it eats well and holds it own against the larger chicks.

I was pretty sure that the last photo is a cockerel, we have another as well. Those are the chances you take when picking from a straight run