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My adult birds are just over a year and their eggs hatch out fine, figures they are the mutt eggs and some seabrite. It is the eggs I am buying from breeders, so I am sure they are doing the right thing, I just think it is me or the bator or a combo of both. I will get that gauge at wally world and see. Right now I am dealing with the cutest cochin chick and he has spraddle legs and clenched feet and I want to save him but I can get the darn legs set. I am going to try cheryls idea with the pipe cleaner, but the poor thing has cardboard snow shoes on and now I have to strap uo his legs with pipe cleaners too. He looks more like a craft project than a chicken!
My vet said what she does for spraddle legs is to put the chick in a glass. This way there isn't room for the legs to slip. I have used short glasses and small plastic tupperware bowls, each lined with paper towel, with great success. Usually after a day in the glass the problem is solved.
Oh, I think I may try that, I have one too in the cupboard. Seems like a logical fix. Now I need to know if I should fix the spraddle or the clenched feet first. I had to give it a bath cause it must have fell into the water dish then walked in the feed so it looked like a cold breaded chicken nugget last night when I found it. So after the bath, I put it back in the bator expevting it not to live thru the night, but it is hobbling around the bator, so now I am off to get some yogurt and hand feed it. How long do ya think the feet can be the way they are before they will respond to fixing?