I had a chick hatch yesterday morning (7/21 around 10 AM EST). I could tell something was wrong while it was still in the bator- It was continuing to do the New Hatch Flop dance move hours after hatching whereas the other chicks had found their sea legs already. I checked her last night thinking the prognosis was grim. She couldn't even hold her body upright. In spite of that, she was strong and active. I left her in the bator for the rest of the night.
I brought the chick (Tazetta aka Taz aka Tazzy aka Spazzy) out of the bator today, and tried to identify the problem. The feet seem a little small/underdeveloped, except for 1 toe which is longer than the others and bent. I thought this toe was oddly long, but when I compare with the other chicks, I think it's the normal size and the rest of the toes are smaller than normal.
All the chicks love pecking this one crooked toe.
She sits upright on her hocks and her toes hang sort of limply in the air. As you can see in the below video, she's figured out how to stumble a step or two - progress! She is able to use her legs (although not well) and she grabs securly onto my finger with the toes on both feet. Her legs seem to work. I can't find any indication of pain. And like I said, she's a spirited and active chick!
Tazzy's first steps (featuring photo bomber "Jonquil")
But then things took a turn. She seeminly lost control of her leg. In the below video I'm partially supporting her body with a finger to see how much she can support her own weight (Chickie PT). Then she jumped (or toppled) out of my hand and into this muscle spasm or whatever it is.
Tazetta's first spasm (trigger warning: distress peeping)
So now she's in the brooder. She has surprsied me with her progress over the past few hours. When I first put her in, there was a good bit of on and off distress calling. Sometimes she'd flop & spin and get herself back up- othertimes she couldn't. The other chicks pecked at her a bit and she would cry- now she doesn't. I think she has learned how to get away from them and/or defend herself. She can go under and come back out of the brooder plate. She can get to the food and is a good eater. She seems to have figured out how to get back up after she does a sit and spin. She likes to lean up against the legs of the brooder plate when she's napping - I think for balance.
The below videos were taken shortly after I placed her in the brooder. You can see she has managed to get herself back upright after she topples over.
Brooder Video
Here she is starting to get the hang of walking (maybe staggering) but she can stumble right- stop herself- stumble left, etc...
Some abilty to ambulate
And this is my favorite video- she has an easier time going in reverse than forward- so watch her back herself under the brooder plate!
Chickens are so adaptable!
When I started this post, it was to look for advice on whether or not to cull. As of now I'm not going to. The chick is trying hard to survive and adapt. I hate culling an animal that seems to want to live, so I'm going to give her time and see how she does.
If anyone has had something similiar happen with a chick, I'd love to hear about your experience. And if this is some common chick thing that I've simply overlooked, please let me know.
Thank you!
I brought the chick (Tazetta aka Taz aka Tazzy aka Spazzy) out of the bator today, and tried to identify the problem. The feet seem a little small/underdeveloped, except for 1 toe which is longer than the others and bent. I thought this toe was oddly long, but when I compare with the other chicks, I think it's the normal size and the rest of the toes are smaller than normal.
All the chicks love pecking this one crooked toe.
She sits upright on her hocks and her toes hang sort of limply in the air. As you can see in the below video, she's figured out how to stumble a step or two - progress! She is able to use her legs (although not well) and she grabs securly onto my finger with the toes on both feet. Her legs seem to work. I can't find any indication of pain. And like I said, she's a spirited and active chick!
Tazzy's first steps (featuring photo bomber "Jonquil")
But then things took a turn. She seeminly lost control of her leg. In the below video I'm partially supporting her body with a finger to see how much she can support her own weight (Chickie PT). Then she jumped (or toppled) out of my hand and into this muscle spasm or whatever it is.
Tazetta's first spasm (trigger warning: distress peeping)
So now she's in the brooder. She has surprsied me with her progress over the past few hours. When I first put her in, there was a good bit of on and off distress calling. Sometimes she'd flop & spin and get herself back up- othertimes she couldn't. The other chicks pecked at her a bit and she would cry- now she doesn't. I think she has learned how to get away from them and/or defend herself. She can go under and come back out of the brooder plate. She can get to the food and is a good eater. She seems to have figured out how to get back up after she does a sit and spin. She likes to lean up against the legs of the brooder plate when she's napping - I think for balance.
The below videos were taken shortly after I placed her in the brooder. You can see she has managed to get herself back upright after she topples over.
Brooder Video
Here she is starting to get the hang of walking (maybe staggering) but she can stumble right- stop herself- stumble left, etc...
Some abilty to ambulate
And this is my favorite video- she has an easier time going in reverse than forward- so watch her back herself under the brooder plate!
Chickens are so adaptable!
When I started this post, it was to look for advice on whether or not to cull. As of now I'm not going to. The chick is trying hard to survive and adapt. I hate culling an animal that seems to want to live, so I'm going to give her time and see how she does.
If anyone has had something similiar happen with a chick, I'd love to hear about your experience. And if this is some common chick thing that I've simply overlooked, please let me know.
Thank you!
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She’s the epitome of a Napoleon complex lol
