A big accomplishment, when it comes to baby chicks, is raising them into adulthood,
But, what if your chick is not gaining weight? This article looks into why this may be happening with your bird.
Table of Contents
Chick not gaining weight:
Baby chicks come out quite small and then continue to grow, quickly, as they age, well, some of them do.
Here is why your baby chick may not be gaining weight:
Stress:
One reason why your baby chick may not be gaining weight may be because of stress.
These little birds are easily frightened and can be frightened by new environments.
This can cause them to develop stress, which will cause them not to eat, which can keep them from gaining weight.
What to do:
Your baby bird may become stressed because it is in a new environment, ie: your home.
The bird will soon get used to being in this new environment, but you can still encourage the bird to eat till then.
Do this by separating the stressed bird, giving it its own food and water, and gently pushing its beak into food and water to get it to eat
Not enough feeders:
Your bird may not be eating, and thus may not be gaining weight, because it is being bullied away from feeders.
If you don’t have enough feeders for your birds then the stronger chicks may be bullying the weaker chicks away from the feeders.
Over time, the bullied bird will stop gaining weight because it isn’t eating
What to do:
If this is happening with your birds the situation can easily be remedied by increasing the number of feeders that the birds have access to, and, by adding more food in the feeders.
In addition to this, give the birds high-quality feed and clean water, and make sure that you feed the birds feed that they enjoy
Temperature in the brooder:
If the temperature of the brooder is too hot then this may make the baby chick not want to eat.
This will result in slow or no growth.
The baby birds need to be kept in an environment where the temperature is between 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit.
This temperature should decrease weekly.
If the temperature is too hot then birds will not eat and will not grow.
What to do:
Check the brooder temperature and observe how the baby birds behave in the brooder.
If the bird is trying to huddle as far away from the heat lamp as possible then the bird is too hot.
If you notice this then turn the heat lamp down,
The bird will get back to eating, and will roam around the enclosure, once the environment is more comfortable.
Illness:
Another issue that may be causing poor growth in your birds is a disease outbreak.
Illnesses will make your bird not want to eat and this may result in the slow, or no, weight gain that you may be seeing in your chicks.
A variety of illnesses may be affecting your bird.
If you notice any signs of illness in your chick like lethargic behavior, appetite loss, withdrawal, or unusual droppings, then the bird may be sick.
What to do:
You could try to diagnose your young bird at home by looking for any other symptoms and coming to a conclusion about your bird.
You alternatively could take the bird to the vet to be examined, tested, diagnosed, and given treatment.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Baby Cockatiel Not Begging For Food, Baby Chick Losing Weight, Why Is My Chicken Not Gaining Weight, Baby Chick Feathers Not Fluffy, Chicken Trouble Swallowing, How To Help A Choking Chicken, Chicken Looks Like It’s Choking, Baby Chick Having Trouble Swallowing, Chicken Can’t Swallow Food