Biscuit the No-Wing Wonder!

[calichooks]

In early April we received a wonderful peeping box. 8 golden comets, a cinnamon queen, a speckled sussex. We were so excited to raise chicks again that we hurried them into the brooder, and after a few hours, handled the little balls of fuzz. Then we noticed something, looking down on them...
One little golden chick... didn’t have any wings!
Contacted TSC, received a refund for her, and got a wingless little thing for free.
We toyed with the idea of giving her away, but you know, there’s no way to be sure that she’s getting good care unless you’re giving it to her yourself!
So here she is, six weeks later, nearly fully feathered and just as rambunctious and inquisitive as her other flock mates. She has 7 other girls her age and she gets along with them fabulously, she’s grown fast and has an attitude on her where she’s definitely not at the bottom of their pecking order. She’s sweet, curious, and really, really doesn’t understand she doesn’t have wings yet...
So what’s it like raising a wingless chick? Well for one, you’ll never see them properly roost. You’ll have to hold on to them a lot tighter when you hold them because they don’t know they’ll fall like a stone! They’ll want to run and flap like their flock mates but will end up jumping and falling onto their side. You have to make sure everything is accessible to them, because you technically have a disabled chicken on your hands.
She’s 6 weeks old and has no wing at all on one side, and a little nub on the other. It means when she does try to jump off of things to fly, she has a teensy bit of lift on one side, and always lands on her other side and not her feet. It’s hard seeing her take a leap of faith and end up wriggling in the ground because she’s bound to the earth. It’s hard when she tries to fly on to you because she wants to be held, and all you hear is a thud when you turn around and a little orange chick struggling to get back up.
But get back up she does! Again and again. She’s got hops, that’s for sure, because what she lacks in wing power, she’s got all in her feet! I imagine this is like what a kiwi or rhea would be like, flightless and all.
We’re still going to hope that she can lay eggs- we’re hoping nothings wrong internally with her. We have plans for speciality ramps to help her get up to roost, and eventually, we think she’s gonna get the idea that she can’t flap like her flock mates.
But, for now, half of us call her Dodo, the other half, Biscuit, And, personally, I call her Biscuit the Brick Johnson, because this little lady flies about as well as a brick.

 

[SueT]

Yay Biscuit, she'll become a BYC celebrity! Please keep us updated!
Cackle Hatchery hatched out a wingless chick, 2 or 3 yrs ago, and decided to keep him as a mascot. Later they adopted him to someone who promised to bring him to their Chicken Festival each year.
Here's their pic of him:

 

[WhoDatChick]

This is so sweet! So happy she has a good home!

 

[calichooks]

Yay Biscuit, she'll become a BYC celebrity! Please keep us updated!
Cackle Hatchery hatched out a wingless chick, 2 or 3 yrs ago, and decided to keep him as a mascot. Later they adopted him to someone who promised to bring him to their Chicken Festival each year.
Here's their pic of him:
View attachment 2154499

i’ll definitely keep everyone updated on this little lady! i’ve always wondered how she passed under Hoover’s radar, being wingless and all- but i can see how hard it is to overlook it, especially as fuzzy babies! ill most definitely update at all of her little milestones!

 

[calichooks]

This is so sweet! So happy she has a good home!

thank you!! i’m so happy i can care for her

 

[drumstick diva]

What a doll! I will definitely watch for your next posts about her.

 

[calichooks]

Biscuit is now almost 8 weeks old!
since i last posted shes had another few weeks learning to (not) use her wings. she still insists on jumping out of our arms when she’s ready to leave, meaning we just have to hold tight and place her down gently instead.
she’s become a gentle, affectionate bird and likes to follow you around. unfortunately because humans take big steps she wants to compensate with flying, meaning sometimes ill turn around and she’ll have dove head first into the bark/grass and is struggling to get back up, but she always shakes it off and keeps going. she’s high up on the pecking order it seems and gets along with everyone (including our 1 1/2 yr old amerucana girl Ruby). despite her disability she’s still a big bird and can fend for herself.
below are some new images of her, two from today and one of her and her sister from a few days ago can’t wait until she’s big enough to integrate and meet everyone else. we’re planning on constructing a personal roosting bar for her in the main coop once she’s old enough

 

[calichooks]

nine weeks and counting!
because she’s bigger, it’s easier to see her wings. it seems as though she has a shoulder on one side and up until an elbow on the other.
she’s growing into an amazing pullet that loves to sit on your lap & get head scratches. it’s so cute because her voice is now changing and her gibbles are getting red. hopefully the next post in a few months time will be of her egg!

 

[calichooks]

it’s now mid august and the girl is doing great!
i was away across the country for all of july so when i came back all of the chicks had grown huge! and now since they’re older, it’s becoming obvious what their personalities are.
Biscuit herself is very non-confrontational and almost antisocial. it’s a little sad to see her being one of the only ones that doesn’t run for mealworms, but i get it. she’ll accidentally cross the older chickens sometimes and when they reprimand her she ends up flailing because she doesn’t have her wings to help her up.
she’s also a little needy! if i place her down and walk somewhere she’ll jump real high and flap her (wings...) to get to me and when i turn around, she’s on her side trying to get up.
thankfully it looks like her sister Dumpling is attached to her. Biscuit does not like to be picked up so she protests when i do, and Dumpling always comes running over to see what’s going on. She always has her eye on me when i’m holding her.
no egg yet, and that’s alright.
with the seasons changing, i’m worried about her ability to keep warm without her wings. during the heatwave all of my chooks had their wings out to cool off, except for her. without wings i’m wondering how she’ll be able to keep the heat in. californian winters aren’t very harsh anyway, but i just want her to be comfortable.
in pictures you can see the different between her and her sister. her sister’s tail is more upright and sleek, but hers is fluffy and wide. assuming that’s just because her wings aren’t there.
hopefully the next update will include eggs. that’ll be an important milestone for her!

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

In early April we received a wonderful peeping box. 8 golden comets, a cinnamon queen, a speckled sussex. We were so excited to raise chicks again that we hurried them into the brooder, and after a few hours, handled the little balls of fuzz. Then we noticed something, looking down on them...
One little golden chick... didn’t have any wings!
Contacted TSC, received a refund for her, and got a wingless little thing for free.
We toyed with the idea of giving her away, but you know, there’s no way to be sure that she’s getting good care unless you’re giving it to her yourself!
So here she is, six weeks later, nearly fully feathered and just as rambunctious and inquisitive as her other flock mates. She has 7 other girls her age and she gets along with them fabulously, she’s grown fast and has an attitude on her where she’s definitely not at the bottom of their pecking order. She’s sweet, curious, and really, really doesn’t understand she doesn’t have wings yet...
So what’s it like raising a wingless chick? Well for one, you’ll never see them properly roost. You’ll have to hold on to them a lot tighter when you hold them because they don’t know they’ll fall like a stone! They’ll want to run and flap like their flock mates but will end up jumping and falling onto their side. You have to make sure everything is accessible to them, because you technically have a disabled chicken on your hands.
She’s 6 weeks old and has no wing at all on one side, and a little nub on the other. It means when she does try to jump off of things to fly, she has a teensy bit of lift on one side, and always lands on her other side and not her feet. It’s hard seeing her take a leap of faith and end up wriggling in the ground because she’s bound to the earth. It’s hard when she tries to fly on to you because she wants to be held, and all you hear is a thud when you turn around and a little orange chick struggling to get back up.
But get back up she does! Again and again. She’s got hops, that’s for sure, because what she lacks in wing power, she’s got all in her feet! I imagine this is like what a kiwi or rhea would be like, flightless and all.
We’re still going to hope that she can lay eggs- we’re hoping nothings wrong internally with her. We have plans for speciality ramps to help her get up to roost, and eventually, we think she’s gonna get the idea that she can’t flap like her flock mates.
But, for now, half of us call her Dodo, the other half, Biscuit, And, personally, I call her Biscuit the Brick Johnson, because this little lady flies about as well as a brick.

Biscuit The Brick Johnson Sounds like she is in The Best Family!!