First time Hatching

[Davaroo]

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So, What part of Aiken do you live in? I am right by the airport...

Im only about 7 minutes from you, back down highway one. I drive past you every day going to work at GlaxoSmithKline. I'll wave next time!

 

[Davaroo]

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They double in size each week in the beginning, so you may wish to up the schedule if you can. Ground corn husks? Just as good. Do you have connections in the poultry biz for those?

As for the one with the deformed leg. Well, it probably has a slipped tendon, which is common with hatched chicks. Some say you can slip it back into place, but I have never tried it. Something to do with rubber bands and chickie splints is involed, I think. Just search around BYC or google for information on how to do it.

But it is probably too late, as it needs to be done within the first day or so for it to "take." This leaves two other options. One seems kind and "right," although isn't in my experience. The other seems harsh, at first, but can be better in the long run.

First, you can just leave it alone. You will have a crippled bird, however. Let it live that way, and it feels like you're doing the right thing. But, bluntly put, cripples rarely live for long. I have even seen their own flock mates kill them before they grow very big.
In the end they die soon enough. The Chickens World is a Savage Place.

The other option is dispatching it. Since life for it will most likely be short and fraught with peril anyway, just take care of it now. You can concentrate on the healthy birds thereafter, and wont have a cripple to fret over.

I'd say since this is your first time with hatchlings, let it live and see what happens. It might survive and carve out a niche of its own in the world. I had one that did - before it was killed by a dog because it couldn't escape.

Just keep in your mind that it's time is probably short on this earth. So it goes.

 

[DarkWolf29805]

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately my little buddy passed in the night. I think that he may of had other things wrong that I couldn't see. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I will wave next time I drive past Verene's Park. I myself drive an hour all the way to Blythewood SC for work, at Continental Diesel Systems.

 

[Davaroo]

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Ouch! Long way to go....

Sorry about the chick, but it happens. Gimme a call sometime; I PM'ed you with my number.