Hi,
new to this forum - although I've lurked a lot and have gotten super helpful insights from here!
I have hatched chicks for the first time, and had 7 out of 10 hatch. They are now 3-4 days old. There doing really well, eating, drinking, starting to grow feathers on their wings. Amazing to watch this for the first time!
One chick does seem to have a problem: there's some kind of boil on it's neck/shoulder, which wasn't there two days ago. It looks like a swollen sack, filled and bulging with liquid. It's hard to tell the color of the liquid, it could be clear but may also be slightly yellowish. The chick doesn't seem in any particular discomfort if I (gently) push against the boil with a finger.
The first day after taking it out of the incubator, it did scratch its neck with its paw a few times, as if it were itchy, but I haven't seen that behavior recently.
Otherwise, it looks happy, eats and drinks like the others.
It's the runt of the litter, a bit smaller than the other chicks - it was a day later to hatch than most of them, but it's also a different breed so that's not necessarily relevant? (This one is a leghorn cross, others include marans and cream legbar)
Here are some pics - it was hard to get a clear shot so I hope this is clear enough.
Does anyone know what this could be? do I need to take any action, or just wait to see if it heals by itself? Any danger of infection to other chicks?
new to this forum - although I've lurked a lot and have gotten super helpful insights from here!
I have hatched chicks for the first time, and had 7 out of 10 hatch. They are now 3-4 days old. There doing really well, eating, drinking, starting to grow feathers on their wings. Amazing to watch this for the first time!
One chick does seem to have a problem: there's some kind of boil on it's neck/shoulder, which wasn't there two days ago. It looks like a swollen sack, filled and bulging with liquid. It's hard to tell the color of the liquid, it could be clear but may also be slightly yellowish. The chick doesn't seem in any particular discomfort if I (gently) push against the boil with a finger.
The first day after taking it out of the incubator, it did scratch its neck with its paw a few times, as if it were itchy, but I haven't seen that behavior recently.
Otherwise, it looks happy, eats and drinks like the others.
It's the runt of the litter, a bit smaller than the other chicks - it was a day later to hatch than most of them, but it's also a different breed so that's not necessarily relevant? (This one is a leghorn cross, others include marans and cream legbar)
Here are some pics - it was hard to get a clear shot so I hope this is clear enough.
Does anyone know what this could be? do I need to take any action, or just wait to see if it heals by itself? Any danger of infection to other chicks?
