mkathleen
In the Brooder
I have some new HRIR chicks hatched within the last 24-48 hours and I'm having some crooked toe issues. Of the 9, two have one foot that looks kind of 'windswept' if you know what I mean, and another has both feet windswept/crooked. It's not a massive deformity, I'm not concerned for their health at all, but I am wondering the cause. Some say genetic, some say incubator, some say parent stock...
My incubator is one of those set-it-and-leave-it fully automated types, I have never known it to spike in temp/humidity in the years we've had it and I have had no power outages. I did however leave the egg tray in there for lock down which in hind sight I should have removed that has egg-shaped holes held approx 2-3mm off the bottom. Little toes can trip on these. The incubator was not opened until they had all hatched.
Some of the chicks also took quite a while between cracking the egg and actually getting out, not sure if this is a possible cause? Come to think of it, I think there were three like that...?
These eggs are shipped eggs from someone I have never bought from before, so genetic factors/any deficiencies in the parents I'm not aware of.
At the end of the day, I'm wondering the likelihood of genetic causes and whether or not I should cull from the breeding pen.
My incubator is one of those set-it-and-leave-it fully automated types, I have never known it to spike in temp/humidity in the years we've had it and I have had no power outages. I did however leave the egg tray in there for lock down which in hind sight I should have removed that has egg-shaped holes held approx 2-3mm off the bottom. Little toes can trip on these. The incubator was not opened until they had all hatched.
Some of the chicks also took quite a while between cracking the egg and actually getting out, not sure if this is a possible cause? Come to think of it, I think there were three like that...?
These eggs are shipped eggs from someone I have never bought from before, so genetic factors/any deficiencies in the parents I'm not aware of.
At the end of the day, I'm wondering the likelihood of genetic causes and whether or not I should cull from the breeding pen.