Deformed chick........cruel to be kind??

[Eggtastic]

Ye4ah, he has managed to make it out of the egg when it looked like he had no chance!! I am going to leave it a few days, maybe put him in an intergration pen beside the other chicks and make sure he is not in any sort of pen........hopefully the other chicks will accept him because I just don't think i would have the time to look after him otherwise.

And he is such a super cute chick!!

 

[CMV]

Does he seem like he's in pain? Do the other chicks pick on him? Is it necessary to separate him at this point? Is he able to eat and drink? Does he seem to have the will to live?

Those are questions I would be asking myself if I were in your shoes. Only you can answer those questions and decide where to go from there.

There are several old posts related to culling chicks on BYC if you do a search. Some methods are easier than others although none of them are going to make you feel better about having to do it.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. Sorry about your chick.

 

[Eggtastic]

He doesnt seem to be in any pain, I think its just a genetic deformity but the orther chicks are definitely picking on him as they are 3 days older then him at this stage as he took so long getting out of the shell.

He definitely seems to want to live and he is eating and drinking no problem............its just to hard....

 

[GreenGoddess]

Ok ok ok.. I just HAD to chime in on this one... First off, congratulations on the hatch... Second of all, you ask what quality of life this little chick will have.. Well, I have the perfect website for you.. I would think in your case, mother nature will take it's course... How many humans have "disabilities" and live a long good life? Maybe not "normal" by our standards but still happy... Anyway, enjoy the site!!
And yes, this story was actually on Ripley's so, it is a true story!!

http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/index.php


Goddess

 

[reveriereptile]

I think you should give him a chance if he is eating and drinking well. We've had some birds we had to put down cause of problems but they couldn't eat or drink well either. The last I remembered my FIL having to put down was a baby goose that had problems hatching that we had to help it out. Once we got it out we found out it had a frozen crooked neck probably from taking to long to hatch. We weren't sure if it would fix itself or not even if we made a brace. The poor goose couldn't eat or drink and would try to walk but be going in circles since one side of its head was up and the other down with it's neck off to the side. We decided it would be better to put it down cause it was having a hard time and couldn't eat or drink even with us trying to help. It also seemed like the neck was hurting from the weight of holding it up off the side. It wouldn't straighten out enough for a brace. This year one of the barn cats had kittens and one kitten has a nerve disorder. It would freeze and twitch in weird movements. My FIL thought of putting it down but after realizing that it was already a few weeks old and survived that long that we would leave it. Even though it twitched it was still able to nurse to be alive. It may have to be taken away from the mother when it gets a little older and be raised as a house cat since I don't think it will last on its own trying to catch mice/birds to eat or know enough where the cat food is. You may have to keep the chick seperated from other turkeys but once it gets big enough to be with chickens it should do alright. Who knows that it may end up your favorite bird. You could always get a little stuff animal to put in with it to make it feel like it's not alone.

 

[Emzyyy]

I say let it live and see how it does if it doesn't do well after a few weeks put it down. I suggest if you put it down use the baking soda and peroxide method he/she will just fall to sleep.

 

[fourfeathers]

I would put it in a cage next to the other chicks for several days so that they get used to each other that way first. Put a stuffed toy in with the chick and/or a blanket to snuggle with. I have done this with some that are a few days apart or special needs that need a gradual intro to others. I have one with a slightly smushed side to his face and only one eye, plus crooked beak. He twirls around a lot because his vision is limited to the one side and sometimes bumps into something straight in front of him, but other than the issues with the crooked beak, does fine. Here is the side with the eye missing. The chick will probably live a quality life.

 

[Eggtastic]

Do any of you breed off your deformed chicks?

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
NO

 

[Pine Ridge Ranch]

Quote:
What is the baking soda and peroxide method? This is completely new to me.