Chick Not Using Leg (PIctures) - Humane Death Necessary?

bellmare said:

I assisted the hatch of a Welsummer chick who hadn't made progress other than a large hole and who had begun drying in the shell. I am 100% confident without intervention this chick would not have survived. I didn't know the reason for it's inability to turn itself and zip without help but upon drying in the brooder it's very clear that it was because it doesn't use it's left leg. The chick CAN move the leg (when I turn him upside down, he kicks it out), but doesn't appear to want to. The toes stay curled under as if the leg is unusable almost all of the time. The chick stays laying down the majority of the time and when it wants to move it shuffles itself by kicking its strong leg and flapping its little wings. I'm curious if anyone has ideas on how to treat or support this chick. I suspect it won't make it, but is there a point where I should just put it out of its misery? Has anyone had a chick with a bum leg successfully make it to adulthood?

Click to expand...

bellmare said:

Thank you Leaf. I'm planning on making a chick sandal later tonight, as well as treating him for splayed legs, just in case. The leg appears to be formed normally so I don't have any idea why the chick isn't using it. I'm going to try to give him some hard boiled egg yolk later and get him to drink some water.

If anyone else has advice or experience with this, please chime in.

Click to expand...

Lady of McCamley said:

You've gotten some basic good advice as to wait and see, and support for fatigued chicks; however I doubt it is fatigue from hatching but failure to hatch because of some genetic cause. Typically a healthy but fatigued chick will rally within 1 to 2 days at most and then run around like the rest of the chicks bright eyed and fluffed.

The trouble with unthrifty and failed to hatch chicks is often neurological or some other invisible cause.

Some such birds will make it into adulthood with success. Often they die later of their deformity usually because they can't eat or drink well as it becomes more difficult to move with their growing weight, or they catch something and die because a compromised immune system usually goes along with failure to hatch or any deformity.

Over the years after a number of attempted assisted hatches, splinting, reviving, nurturing, nursing, I have come to the conclusion I will no longer assist hatch (unless I know environmentally caused shrink wrap...usually a hen disturbed at the wrong time). There is almost always a reason the bird couldn't make it out of the shell that will prevent it from thriving. The birds that do make it after an assisted hatch or deformity in chickhood do not survive as well and seem far more prone to disease thereby acting as a vector of illness to the rest of the flock. (That's why the other birds will often drive away and haze a frail bird).

If your are trying to keep a sustaining and self supporting flock, cull now.

If these are pets, and you have time and desire to fuss and nurse, by all means do so knowing this may always be a special need bird and you may need to cull later if the bird cannot handle larger body weight.

If you are breeding for show or sale, cull now.

Good luck with your little one.

LofMc

Click to expand...