Hi Renita,
what breed of chicken are they? it could just be a smaller breed or a bantam mixed in. I am certainly no expert so forgive me if I'm totally off base but that picture looks like a turken/naked neck. Is it just bare in the front?

Hopefully Velvet or someone with more experience will see your post.

-Sheila

Here is a link that might be useful:

what does the beak look like?

I hatched a chick whose beak began to cross out and it couldn't pick up the feed and eventually died.

I have another that has a gap between the top & lower beak and also has trouble getting food into the beak without it falling out. It is half the size of its siblings.

M

Little Adele is supposed to be a barred plymouth rock. She looks just like the other two of her breed except for the naked neck thing, which just showed up in the last week.

I'll bet its being picked on for being the runt, I am just blowing out my ___ here, but force feeding might work.

I had this EXACT situation this spring. I ordered 45 chicks. 3 were standard buff cochins. One just would not grow. It stayed tiny, then the others began picking on it.
I separated it into a rubbermaid bin, it was still cold out so I gave her a lamp, free access to food/water. She thrived, but kept her naked neck for some time. I put in another chick that had been tail pecked. The two became buds.
It started to grow about 3 months into it's life! It is now out with a mixed flock, she's the size of or even a bit smaller than a banty! But she's super tough.
I say separate her, give her what she needs, and she may just come around. Do it asap.
The strangest thing was- when I put her and the tail pecked hen out- they didn't leave each others sides for several weeks. They were completely bonded. Seems they are now separated...

If she has a congenital problem that is eventually going to get her, there isn't a whole lot you can do. Just keep offering good food and keep her comfortable. It's called Failure To Thrive but it usually gets chicks much younger, so chances are she's simply small and is going to be OK. :)

Going by foot size comparison with the other chick in the picture, she may be a bantam--but's hard to tell. If she is underweight you may want to take her to the vet to make sure she doesn't have an internal parasite such as worms. Usually a sick chicken will show it--is she listless or sit around with her eyes closed?

That bare patch MAY be just the classic 'my baby fluff-has-fallen-out-in-this-last-area-and-now-I'm-going-to-look-geeky-for-a-bit-till-my-REAL-feathers-grow-in' look. My chicks have looked like this, poor things. :) But check her skin for irritation, bleeding, etc. Watch the chicks interact to see if any picking is going on. Usually it's caused by boredom or overcrowding, especially if they are penned. If so, you need to offer some distraction to the game of 'Let's all pick at Adele'. Raw corn on the cob is good, as is a great big grassy dirt clod or a chunk of raw cabbage. Anything that takes time to eat and is entertaining is good.

Do you have more pics or the chicks together, maybe from the side?

Velvet ~:>

I don't think there is any picking going on. I've only seen one squabble between her and the bossy one, but there was a red wiggler involved. She is active enough, and does all the same things the others do, but she definately eats less. The others will still be chomping down for quite some time, and she's off doing her own thing. She seems to like greens the most, and will spend more time eating those.

I'm starting to think she'll be small, but then again I still worry. She's the size they were when we got them on June 10th!

{{gwi:45317}}

thanks for your advice. I did put her a another place on her own for a day and she cheeped all day long. Maybe I need to find another baby chick to hang out with her.

Yes, give her company! Chickens are flock animals and without another bird she'll just get stressed and do poorly. You may even have to give up and put everyone back together again due to the incessant peeping, running back and forth and fretting. If that happens just give her room to run away from any bullying and a place to hide.

She is a tiny gal...it DOES look like her feet are smaller that the others, though, so she may be a bantam. Have you checked them for mites? If she seems to have trouble eating, I'd look in her mouth as well...

Velvet ~:>

she's precious :)

We moved them into bigger quarters last night. Finally, got the coop finished enough. The biggest thing we have left to do is put up the cedar shakes. Building this thing was a lot bigger project than I expected. And we are not builders so all the doors are crooked! Last night I woke up A LOT. The coyotes were around, and I worried about the little girls all night.

But at least they have more room to roam. It was fun going out this morning and opening up the little hatch and watching them all pop out. Of course little Adele was last and she jumped all the way down instead of hopping down the ramp. But she's keeping up.

And I've checked....no mites....seems to eat fine.

thanks, I hope she's just a runt or a bantam.

Maybe she's a runt?? When my baby ducks hatched there was a runt. Her name is Diego and her wings stick out instead of laying down on her back like they should. I don't know if it has something to do with her being the smallest or not... But, other than the wing thing she seems fine and as healthy as the rest.

Maybe she's a runt?? When my baby ducks hatched there was a runt. Her name is Diego and her wings stick out instead of laying down on her back like they should. I don't know if it has something to do with her being the smallest or not... But, other than the wing thing she seems fine and as healthy as the rest.

I had the same scenario in my group of 25 Cochin bantams. One, who turned out to be a speckled hen was real small compared to the rest. I thought maybe her parents were just small for thier breed, but she too lost feathers just like yours. I became convinced Easter would die, but good news is at 5 months old she is the same size now as everyone and although her feathering took a bit more time, she now has the nicely rounded tail and whole Cochin look.
Be patient, I bet your girl will be fine.