This little guy hatched early this morning, and before I could get to him the male and other hens were after him. He's holding his left wing straight down and turned up (backwards), so I'm sure the wing is broken at the shoulder. Doesn't seem to be in any pain and has been drinking and learning to peck at the egg food I have sprinkled on the cage bottom.
He's so tiny that when I tried to use gauze to immobilize his wing, I just couldn't keep him still long enough to wrap the stuff around him (that thin finger tape that sticks to itself, not actual tape). I know that for skeletal deformities like splay legs, the chick has a narrow window in which the problem can be corrected. I don't think I can secure his wing due to his size. Do I have any other options other than putting him down?
He's so tiny that when I tried to use gauze to immobilize his wing, I just couldn't keep him still long enough to wrap the stuff around him (that thin finger tape that sticks to itself, not actual tape). I know that for skeletal deformities like splay legs, the chick has a narrow window in which the problem can be corrected. I don't think I can secure his wing due to his size. Do I have any other options other than putting him down?