chick born with one eye and cross beak

[chkinut]

great advice! thanks a BUNCH!! i will bookmark this thread for sure!!!

 

[True Grit]

My girl just started laying at about 8 months. She put on weight once I started sprinkling grit over a bowl of 3 parts scratch, 3 parts mealworms and one part sunflower hearts. She can eat her crumbles too but she hogs the scratch. She can't pick up grit and oyster shell so really needs it sprinkled over her treat. Now she seems a little fat to me! It was a huge transformation. Good luck with yours.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Since it's still a chick you can mix chick starter in with a yogurt base and hand feed him a few times a day to give him the extra nutrition.

Vitamins in the water, even if you use an eyedropper, can help a lot too.

Again, best of luck with the little guy. He was pretty lucky to hatch with you as his surrogate mommy.

 

[chkinut]

thanks....the brooder is quiet now...only a couple times have i seen a chick peck at the poor lil' guys beak....i've been dipping his beak in water a few times today (with the added vitamins)...haven't tried to feed him yet since he just hatched today....but that will be one of the 1st things i do tomorrow is to feed him...and i have some plain yogurt that my older girls outside get as a treat, so i'll mix the chick starter in with that. he does seem to peep a lot.....like he's needy for something. i sure hope its a girl....DH said i can NOT keep it if it's a rooster....i understand....but i worry i won't be able to find a home for him. i DO have a couple great aquaintences that MAY take him if need be.....let's just hope he's a she. sweet lil thing is sleeping soundly now. oh, i saw a GREAT name for a rooster in this book i have for pet names....Bentley!! that would be such a cute name for him! however, since i can't even keep him if it's a roo....i've decided to name HER a female name anyway.....kind of a common name, but for some reason Clarabelle just sticks with this chick. So, her name is Clarabelle and i will hope to get some pics on here tomorrow if my friend can bring over her camera. stay tuned!!!

 

[chkinut]

Quote:
wow! she sounds like she can eat fairly well! that's good to know. do the other chickens pick on her? can u possibly post a pic? what's her name? what breed is she?

 

[True Grit]

Here is Zippy. I'm not sure if you can see her beak but it is pretty severe. She is a white EE. The one from the summer may show how thin she was - she got even thinner in early winter. The others let her eat. I think they want to pick on her a little but she is pretty brave so they don't.

 

[chkinut]

thanks for the pics....can she eat the watermelon pretty well? i gave Clarabelle a tiny bit of yogurt right before i went to bed lastnight. i'm getting ready to feed her in a few minutes....so far she isn't eating or drinking on her own. you guys that own kinds of birds....do you remember if they ate and drank on their own when they were just days old?

 

[chkinut]

wow! it is SO hard to feed her!! i took chick starter and made it into a paste, at first it was too thick, but i tried to place some on the side of her bottom beak....she didn't take it in...so i made it more runny and put it in a syringe...it was pretty much unsuccessful. i had her in my left hand...pretty secure....but she kept freakin out and moving her head all around. then when i finally DID get some food/water into her, she shakes her head and freaks out all the more....i'll try again later....

 

[Gypsy07]

I loved reading this thread. I always like hearing about special needs animals given a chance.

Did this chick hatch out totally on her own, no helping out? If so then I'd say she has a good chance. I have a roughly 6 month old pullet with a really horrible crossbeak. She came from a local farm that buys in 5000 chicks at a time and raises them in huge sheds. I got her from them about a month ago when she was already pretty much fully grown. They probably never noticed her beak and she would definitely have had NO special treatment whatsoever. She's way ugly looking but can obviously fend for herself just fine. She's still the same size and weight as the other nine I got anyway, so she's obviously okay with eating the pellets. I'm just going to keep an eye on her beak and trim when necessary.

I don't have a problem with giving wonky animals loads of extra time and special treatment as long as they're not in any discomfort and can eat and get about okay. If someone wants to make that commitment then good for them. I suppose it is a personal choice though. I also don't have a problem with the folk who make the choice to cull. People keep animals for different reasons; what's right for one person isn't necessarily right for another. I hope your chick gets on okay!

Oh, and Zoomumsy: I think your cockerel is rather jaunty looking!

 

[chkinut]

Gypsy.....does your pullet have a severely crossed beak? this one's kind of severe. and i helped her hatch.....i was debating whether or not to help....she kept pushing against the egg with no success....she had zipped about a 1/3 of the way....if you can even call it a zip....it was more like a big hole. i think i decided to help cuz i have a sp. needs child and he needed help being born....and i just couldn't let her die. i tried feeding her again with very little success. maybe i should just hope and pray she eats like the rest of them? maybe if she gets hungry enough, she'll find a way?