Deformed easter egger chick

[lcvedder]

I hatched out some chicks from my small backyard flock on 3/17/2014 and one of them is slightly deformed. It was the first chick out of 21 to hatch so it is a strong little guy or girl. However, it has a crossed break and one of its eyes is much smaller than the other. So far it is growing normally and eating and drinking well. Has anyone had a similar experience? Did your chicks survive and grow to live relatively normal chicken lives? I will update this post as this chick develops and let you all know how things turn out- for better or for worse.

Here you can really see the difference in size of it's eyes.

It's beak is crossed, but he can still eat and drink.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Yeah, I can see the eye difference and the crossed beak, but if in every other respect the chick is eating, drinking, growing and socializing, I guess these are not that important, either to the chick's overall health or quality of life. So, personally, I wouldn't worry about it at all. If, in the future, you think the beak is interfering with eating, you can deal with it then. I doubt the eye discrepancy will ever factor in. Enjoy your little one, even with a few sweet differences!

 

[Duckopolis]

Did it hatch too soon?

 

[BaileyBoy]

please keep us updated

 

[Duckopolis]

I'm guessing that it will still turn out fine!

 

[Duckopolis]

please keep us updated

 

[aleebama]

I have a three yr old bantam that has a crossed beak that looks just like your chick's. It appeared at about he same age. Her head/skull is a bit deformed and one eye looks a little different from the other. Just a tad smaller. She has held her own within my flock of standard size birds. I have trimmed her top beak a few times with a Dremel tool when it really begins to severely overlap the bottom. It needs it sometimes sooner or later than other times depending on how much she keeps it whittled down by scratching and rubbing it on objects by herself. Just keep an eye on your chick to make sure she is eating enough and isn't getting skinny. If so, she might need a little extra help.

 

[lcvedder]

Did it hatch too soon?

I didn't notice any other signs that the chick hatched too early. It's yolk was fully absorbed and its shell was pretty clean. But it was the first chick to hatch so it may be the cause. We also had a power outage rather late in the hatch- around day 19, that lasted about 4 hours. That may also be the culprit.

 

[lcvedder]

Thank you for your experiences! I am much more optimistic about this little one now. I will update his/her progress here over the next few weeks.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Optimism fuels this crazy lifestyle doesn't it?