Chick born with birth defect. What should i do?

[boykin2010]

One chick hatched last night with a birth defect on its foot. It cant bend it or move it and the toes dont spread out they all kind of stick together. The other leg is fine but he cant really walk and the other chicks sometimes step on him. The foot has a big red spot on it where the leg attaches to the body.
He did hatch a little late. He hatched late on day 23.

What should i do? Is my only option to kill him? I would really hate to do this but it is cruel to make him stay in the brooder with the other chicks and him getting stepped on.
If i do need to kill him what is the best / most painless way for me to do it?

 

[N&MSchroeder]

I remember seeing something about making splints for the toes with match sticks (?). I will look around and see if I can find the reference.

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Here's one reference

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=53345

 

[Patchesnposies]

Can you post a picture? A lot of times you can help if they have foot deformity at hatch. However, there are times that there isn't anything you can do. If I have a chick that needs dispatched and my husband is not around to do the deed, this is what I do.

Put him in a container, sit a bucket of water next to him and add dry ice, put on the lid. Check back in half and hour, dispose of body.

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

you could separate the chick, and pull out an arsenol of vet wrap, band aids, and matchsticks, try to see if it is a total joint dislocation ( not fixable) or just a deformity ( possibly fixable), and see if you can get the leg as close to normal as possible.
i imagine if you leave him with the others, he will get trampled, starved and die.
good luck to you

 

[boykin2010]

I really dont think there is anything i can do for him the more i look at it. The actual toes are deformed and the leg bone isnt the correct shape. I think it has gotten worse and he cant sit up on his own, his face is just on the ground.

 

[Higins00]

If there is nothing else to do, I put them in a small bag, go out on the driveway and tap a shovel three times on the ground and on the fourth time I move the shovel over and hit it on its head with the flat of the shovel. It is quick and always does the job. It is already in a bag so I can just despose of it. It ends the suffering. It's awful any way you do it.

 

[cfdf]

I had a duck with a deformity. I took it to the vet and there was no hope for the duckie. I let the vet put him down. It cost me $95. There is no way I can ever do the deed. It was worth every penny I paid.

 

[Chickengal505]

PLEASE don't kill him yet! It's possable to amputate the leg and he can hop around on one leg. I've had lots of peope do this and the chicks turn out fine. You can search amputate in the search box in the upper right hand corner of the site and you'll get loads of info.