My chick seems to be losing weight

[QuailKeeper1992]

Hello, I am new to posting here but I am a long time reader of this forum and you have all helped me with so much already. I am, again, in need of some assistance.
I have a week and a half old Silkie chick. She was the only one to hatch out of her clutch when I purchased her and I now have her in my brooder.
I have given her seed and water and done my best to teach her how to eat and drink.
She drinks well and she does eat the seed but she never fully fills her crop and she now feels skinny. I can feel her keel bone and her spine.
I have even tried mashing up cooked egg yolks with a bit of water and feeding that to her, as I know egg yolks contain a lot of nutrients and fats she needs.
I don't know what else I can do to help her gain weight.

 

[DemeterAD9]

What are you feeding? You say seed but what exactly?

Young growing chicks need a high protein, quality chick starter. Something with 18-20% protein is preferable.

 

[SilverBirds]

Chicks are very fragile especially banties like Silkies so I wouldn't be surprised if you feel some bones. Have you tried regularly weighing her to see if she really is gaining or losing weight?

What do you mean by seed? Chicks should be eating crumbles to maintain a balanced diet and get all the nutrients they need to grow strong. Anything on then crumbles they will need grit on the side.

Do you have any other chickens or plan on getting your chick some friends?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Have you weighed her? What do you mean by seed? It’s normal for chicks to feel bony. They don’t usually plump up until they mature unless you are raising meat birds and purposely fattening them up.

 

[QuailKeeper1992]

What are you feeding? You say seed but what exactly?

Young growing chicks need a high protein, quality chick starter. Something with 18-20% protein is preferable.

All I have is ordinary bird seed at the moment until I can get some chick starter. I was hoping the seed would be suffient enough for a short time.

 

[QuailKeeper1992]

Chicks are very fragile especially banties like Silkies so I wouldn't be surprised if you feel some bones. Have you tried regularly weighing her to see if she really is gaining or losing weight?

What do you mean by seed? Chicks should be eating crumbles to maintain a balanced diet and get all the nutrients they need to grow strong. Anything on then crumbles they will need grit on the side.

Do you have any other chickens or plan on getting your chick some friends?

I only have bird seed at the moment. Will be getting chick starter for her soon. I don't have anything to weigh her with but I will get some kitchen scales which should be sensitive enough.
I am planning on getting more chicks soon of different breeds but we are currently building a new pen. Silkies are hard to come by here so I wanted to get her while I had the chance.

 

[CHlCKEN]

All I have is ordinary bird seed at the moment until I can get some chick starter. I was hoping the seed would be suffient enough for a short time.

I mean, it’s better than nothing but the chick is probably starving. You **need** a chick starter with at least 18% to 20% protein. Scramble up an egg asap and give it to the bird. Right now, varying in deficiency depending on what seed you’re feeding, this bird is not getting enough protein at all.

 

[SilverBirds]

I only have bird seed at the moment. Will be getting chick starter for her soon. I don't have anything to weigh her with but I will get some kitchen scales which should be sensitive enough.
I am planning on getting more chicks soon of different breeds but we are currently building a new pen. Silkies are hard to come by here so I wanted to get her while I had the chance.

Does she have any grit (tiny rocks that birds eat to help grind food in the gizzard)? Without grit she won't be able to easily digest her food which can lead to an impacted crop.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Agreed bird seed is not okay. If you were substituting for a day until you could run to the store that would be fine, but no it is not adequate at all for any longer than that. Even a week of bird seed only would be enough to make a chicken lose weight and start to have nutrient issues. Also I agree with the above you absolutely need to be feeding grit with the bird seed or anything else besides chicken feed. Chickens eat little rocks that digest their food without it they can’t digest.

 

[DemeterAD9]

I think feeding just scrambled eggs would be better than bird seed. A chick cannot digest seeds without grit so as other have said, it is starving. Get chick starter as soon as possible. Hopefully the chick will bounce back with proper feed.