Day 20 UPDATE...DEFORMED

[SundownWaterfowl]

Well, the chick hatched from the splash egg and it is deformed.

It only has 4 toes. Silkies have 5, and the outer toe on the outside of the foot is a little stump.

Could it be from getting x-rayed? Do you think it will be able to walk?

Im so upset now, now I have a chick that I cant use to breed, and who knows if it will even walk.

 

[wegotchickens]

I had a silkie that had that same problem and she walked just fine...

 

[jessupfamily]

It should walk just fine.

We've had a couple like that as well. They had no problem walking! Could it be a Silkie mix?

Some of our Silkie mixes have just 4 toes or just a little stump.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
No. It isnt a Silkie mix.

I really wish that I could find somebody local that I could get eggs or started chicks from, but nobody breeds Silkies around here.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I'm having that same problem...A park near us has blue silkies this fall but I seen the parents and they don't look that great. So I think I'm going to try shipped eggs again this fall to see if the cooler weather works for me. I had some this summer and none made it

Good luck finding your eggs/chicks! I want silkies so badly but still have not gotten them. I also want orps...REAL TRUE orps and so far I ended up with all mixes even tho they were suppose to be pure orps

 

[pbjmaker]

I haven't had any luck with silkies either...

I do have one gorgeous show-girl - but I think that is as close as I will get until next spring.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sounds like it got some bad genes in it's parent lines along the way. If x ray's did anything to the early cells, the chick probably would have done a lot more than just affect toes. Sorry you couldn't get a good breeder out of it. Sometimes it can happen even if the parents all had 5 toes. And I thought polydactally was a dominate trait, but guess it's only so in humans.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
I got the eggs from a very reputable breeder. I have another batch of eggs from her due to hatch in about 2 weeks.

So I cant use it to breed. So it will be strictly a pet. I cant bring myself to cull her. If she can't walk, then I have no other choice than to cull her, but she seems to be doing fine.





ETA: Well, I just checked on the cuckoo egg. It was peeping before, but wasnt pipped through the shell. Well I just candled it and its dead. Today has been a bad day! So, i take it out of the shell, and its fine, not deformed, has all 5 toes. It figures that that was the one to die. It broke through the sac but couldnt get through the shell. I hope my next hatch doesnt go like this.