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Four legged chicken embryo?

post #1 of 6
2/3/12 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 

Hey everyone, today something very weird happened to me. I've had a broody sitting for 12 days and today she got up and left the eggs to go cold. I took one of them and cracked it open to see how much they had developed and the embryo had two extra legs! Its beak was also crossed. The heart was still beating so I assume the other eggs are still okay, since I talked the hen into sitting for a while longer. I would guess the chick would not have hatched anyway. Does anyone know if this is genetic? Could it have lived? In any case, I figured somebody might find it interesting.embryo.jpg

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post #2 of 6
2/3/12 at 9:50pm

its a 50/50 chance it could hatch then again it may not have hatched you never know

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owner of Itty Bitty Dowden Family Farm: https://www.facebook.com/#!/IttyBittyDowdenFamilyFarm

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post #3 of 6
2/3/12 at 10:11pm

If there are severe congenital anomalies that are visible, there are usually more that aren't. This chick was an assisted hatch and was still breathing during the photos. Exposed brain due to lack of cranium, deformed skull with only 1 eye detectable, abdominal organs on the outside, severe cross-beak.

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I live with my partner and our daughter in the foothills of NC. We LOVE our critters!
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I live with my partner and our daughter in the foothills of NC. We LOVE our critters!
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post #4 of 6
2/3/12 at 10:14pm

I wouldn't scramble that one, or have it over easy! sickbyc.gif

"Jesus" God was murdered for the guilty and rose from the dead!

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"Jesus" God was murdered for the guilty and rose from the dead!

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post #5 of 6
2/8/12 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 

So I've asked around and found out that these kind of mutations generally form in the first few days of incubation and are due to uneven heat. Apparently, when the limb stumps start to form, uneven heat can make the DNA code out wrong and make extra, missing, or severly disformed organs or limbs. The chances are slim that it could have survived hatch since there was obvious physical issues, there were probably other issues that weren't as obvious. It is very unlikly that this is genetically related. I'll post again when the remaining 8 eggs hatch in 5 days.

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post #6 of 6
2/11/12 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 

Okay, the eight eggs hatched today. None of them had any visible deformities, other than a few with 5 toes on each foot (which is to be expected, seeing as they have some Faverollie genes from a few generations ago). It is remarkable that I cracked open the only bad egg out of 9.

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