Runt chick 'forages'

[Bulcaoma]

Good morning.

I'm new to baby chicks (they are about 2-3 weeks old) and I have noticed one of the Speckled Sussex is much smaller /lighter weight than the others and almost half the size of the other speckled sussex of same age with less feathering. She is very quick, running everywhere. Forages like crazy in one section of the pine shaving bedding near the nipple waterers. She drinks normally, gets along with others, but when all others are at the feed 'trough', she's happily foraging alone where there isn't food. Just scratches away, looks, scratches, looks. Also spends most of her non rest time doing this even if others aren't eating together. The other speckled sussex behaves like the rest of the flock. She seems to hang out with the silkies showing then her cool foraging skills, and the 3 also occasionally seem oblivious

Yesterday i put some crumbles in the spot she likes because I was at my wits end, but everyone else clued in. She got some, but am I just creating a problem for her by doing that? If I put her at the food, she just runs back to what she was doing.

Any advice please.

 

[fuzzi]

If she's so much smaller than I would think she's not able to compete.

Could she be a bantam?

 

[Perris]

She is very quick, running everywhere. Forages like crazy in one section of the pine shaving bedding near the nipple waterers. She drinks normally, gets along with others, but when all others are at the feed 'trough', she's happily foraging alone where there isn't food. Just scratches away, looks, scratches, looks. Also spends most of her non rest time doing this

she has strong natural instincts - which is to forage for food as her number 1 priority - and there are studies showing chickens will do what your chick is doing even when there is food easily available (See Nicol Behavioural biology of chickens 2013). Cut a turf from the garden and put it in the brooder for her. Hope that she teaches the others how to be proper chickens.

 

[Bulcaoma]

If she's so much smaller than I would think she's not able to compete.

Could she be a bantam?

A week ago they were similar in size, now she's smaller. She doesn't even attempt to go to where everyone is eating when the rest are. They have a lot of room/possible eating spots in feed area as well as water area to keep down competing. I doubt bantam as they came from wilco in sme bin with no bantam options.

 

[Bulcaoma]

she has strong natural instincts - which is to forage for food as her number 1 priority - and there are studies showing chickens will do what your chick is doing even when there is food easily available (See Nicol Behavioural biology of chickens 2013). Cut a turf from the garden and put it in the brooder for her. Hope that she teaches the others how to be proper chickens.

I have brought in chunks of grass with dirt twice this week . At first they're terrified, then eventually eat it. All (including the tiny girl) enjoy this. My concern is to try to get their main diet crumbles, while still young and think of the grass clump as more of a treat.

I appreciate that she's got the foraging instinct down, but I fear there's no big reward in health so far for her effort since the food isn't there.

At what point should I do something drastic (and what) to help her out?

 

[Perris]

You said she is lively and runs around a lot; she's getting enough to eat and enjoying life therefore. Some birds are smaller than others, some are late developers. I would stop worrying about her, keep bringing in turfs (the weedier the better) - there is food in it even if we can't see it - and if you still want to try to get her to eat more, offer some meat or fish. Tinned sardines work for most keepers who've tried them.

 

[Brooks_]

If you're concerned that the small one is being bullied away from the feed - just add another feeder or two.

 

[Bulcaoma]

If you're concerned that the small one is being bullied away from the feed - just add another feeder or two.

No bullying happening that I can see. Just shows no interest on her part to be there. She's VERY focused on happily foraging.

 

[Perris]

I thought you might enjoy this (the most recent clutch here): 2 paying attention to mum's lesson, 3 already think they know it all, and 1 wondering what's behind the vegetative curtain (which actually was one of the chicks' favourite places to rummage for stuff and dig deep, well hidden from possible predators)

 

[RoyalChick]

When I had chicks in the brooder indoors I scattered their chick feed around the brooder floor.
That means they are not all in one place so everyone gets some and they learn to scratch and search.
In my last lot of chicks I had one who did the scattering for me by flinging everything she could out of the feeder because she only liked food she found on the floor but recognized the feeder as containing food. Her routine was to shove food out of the feeder and then dig for it and eat it.