Baby chick born with skeletal deformity? Need advice and knowledge!!!

[SwampPrincessChick]

Sorry for the late reply guys, I’m a labor and delivery nurse and having been working a lot lately. It seems like mommies are always ready to deliver their babies around the holidays! I unfortunately did have to cull the chick which absolutely broke my heart. With the way she was chirping and continuously I really felt she was hurting. I was hand feeding and watering her which wouldn’t have been a problem that’s just one of the unexpected encounters you sign up for when you decide to hatch and care for your own chicks/chickens. But, even me holding her in my hand would elicit an almost screaming chirp. She had pooped and several times I had to keep cleaning her bottom because she was just sitting in it. When I tried to straighten her legs out to see if I could splint them in the correct position then sling her so it would maybe strengthen the legs they wouldn’t bend in that direction. It was like the tibias were actually attached backwards at the hock or knee joint. She absolutely let me know that it was painful for me to try to straighten them out even slightly. I hope i choose the right decision for this little chick, it definitely wasn’t an easy one for me, I just couldn’t watch her continue to suffer knowing I didn’t have a solution to fix her. Thank you all so much for your helpful advice and knowledge you guys are so amazing and it’s so comforting knowing I have friends available to turn too that care as much as I do for our chickens.

You definitely chose the right decision. Culling a chick is always hard, but the chick is not in constant pain anymore.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry to hear about the little one.