Chick with deformed wing

[uisceros]

Hi all,

My Seramas hatched a baby yesterday that has a weird issue. Its right wing is super small compared to the left, and it seems to be causing some balance issues. Its neck tilts to the right side as well. Its legs are unaffected.

Otherwise the chick is active, bright, and able to drink/eat (though admittedly has done little of either since it’s only a day old). It is also SCREAMING currently since I have it alone so it’s not trampled.

I kept it in the incubator all day today, and while the plan to originally to give it to my broody mama hen, I don’t think that’s going to work with its deformity.

Had anyone seen this before? Is there anything I should be concerned about? My hope is that in a few days it will strengthen its right side enough so there’s less balance issues. It’s already MUCH better than it was this morning.

This is only the fourth baby I’ve hatched, so I have no clue. The other two chicks that hatched around the same time seem perfectly fine.

Edit: just in case it’s wry neck I am giving it a diluted nutridrench / B12 / water solution. It’s hard to guess doses for Seramas since they’re SO tiny, but I’m giving tiny drops periodically.

 

[Debbie292d]

The nutra drench has instructions on the bottle to make various quantities of it in water. It doesn't matter how big or small the bird is. They would drink that as their water source for the day. I would get Poultry Cell though as that would be better for the possible wry neck issue.

I doubt anything is going to make the wing grow faster though so that wing may be permanently smaller than the other but Mother Nature can do wonderful things so I wouldn't give up. It should learn to adapt to the smaller wing.

 

[uisceros]

The nutra drench has instructions on the bottle to make various quantities of it in water. It doesn't matter how big or small the bird is. They would drink that as their water source for the day. I would get Poultry Cell though as that would be better for the possible wry neck issue.

I doubt anything is going to make the wing grow faster though so that wing may be permanently smaller than the other but Mother Nature can do wonderful things so I wouldn't give up. It should learn to adapt to the smaller wing.

Oh, good to know about the Poultry Cell. I have that in my medicine toolkit. I’ll make a solution for the baby when I get home from work.

This morning it was a little weaker, so I put it back in the incubator (with another chick that hatched last night). Since the deformed one is weaker I might keep it in the incubator for a bit. I mostly just want it get it past the first few days. I hope the balance issue resolves soon.

 

[uisceros]

Good news - the baby (who we named Nemo for obvious reasons) is doing well! It still has a bit of a head tilt and a bit of balance issues, but it’s strong - eating, drinking and screaming occasionally if it feels left out

Here it is with 2 of the other babies (Nemo is the white one). I’m keeping them separate from my broody for now since I’m afraid Nemo might get trampled. Not a big deal - while it’s my first time brooder-raising Seramas, these are not my first chicks!

 

[Lovemychix1980]

How is the baby chick with the smaller wing doing??

 

[Lovemychix1980]

How is your baby chick doing with the slight head tilt and the smaller wing?

 

[uisceros]

How is your baby chick doing with the slight head tilt and the smaller wing?

Doing well so far! Its head is still a tiny bit tilted, but it’s strong and feisty. Out of all of them, it’s the only one who fights being picked up
I wish I could post a video, Nemo is quite a character.

I’m not as concerned about the small wing - it’ll be a spoiled pet chicken, no need for flying!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We had a hen once with no left wing at all and she did fine. No clue if she lost it in an accident or was born without one. She came with a flock of about six started pullets, so, no idea. I didn't even notice till we'd had her a while.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

BTW, Nemo's a great name for your special chick!

 

[Debbie292d]

Doing well so far! Its head is still a tiny bit tilted, but it’s strong and feisty. Out of all of them, it’s the only one who fights being picked up
I wish I could post a video, Nemo is quite a character.

I’m not as concerned about the small wing - it’ll be a spoiled pet chicken, no need for flying!

To post a video, you need to post it somewhere first. I use YouTube. Then you make it shareable and grab the link, click the media button here and paste the link.