Originally Posted by
debs_flock 
I had a chick hatch last week with problems. It was slightly small, hatched during the night, very wet and covered with membrane. When I found it in the morning, it's chin was dried to it's chest, it's left wing was dried to it's cheek and it's entire right side was dried to the floor of the incubator. After much working at it, I dampened it enough to get it off the floor, let it rest, then worked on washing the hard shell of membrane from it's body. The whole chick felt crispy. It couldn't stand and it's right leg was just wrong, but it was chirping lustily. I knew it would never be other than a pet, since it had issues, but I decided to try and save it.
Well, little Penelope finally took her first step today at 9 days old. I'm not quite sure what's wrong with it, but it folded completely to the inside behind her bottom, so that both legs crossed like a plus sign. I kept them tape hobbled with a pipe cleaner brace between them for the first 5 days, but that didn't seem to help. Her toes also curled on the good foot, but that corrected after taping for one day.
She got her name because I needed a pirate name (peg leg), so she was named for Penelope Cruz from the Johnny Depp movie. I'm pretty sure it's a pullet, she has absolutely no comb development.
For the past nine days, I've held her up to food and water many times per day. She started eating food at 2-3 days. I started her on nestling food (from my finches). It's super finely ground. I would hold her over a papertowel and sprinkle pinches of food a few grains at a time to get her attention, kind of like a hen pecking the ground to teach her chicks to eat. Once she figured it out, she really started shoveling it down. She particularily likes the thistle seed in the mix and will pick them out. It took her 5-6 days to figure out drinking. Up until then every drop she drank was from me pushing her beak into the water. Actually, all this time I've been giving her Pedialyte for the electrolytes. The first time she dipped her beak by herself, I was thrilled.
I've had to keep her on rubbermaid shelf liner or towels so she could get a grip with her toes. I've been exercising her legs and toes all this time (good thing it was my week off work). Yesterday for the very first time, she pulled herself up onto her feet by herself for the first time. Up until then, she totally got around by scooting around on her chest, just pushing with her good foot. I really wondered what I would do with a pet chicken that couldn't stand up.
Today, she actually took her first step!!!!!! She has always been able to move her leg, just couldn't draw it under herself. She only managed to take a couple of steps before falling back down, but I consider this amazing progress.
Keep your fingers crossed for Penelope.
Deb
just kidding!!!!!
