I have a newly hatched sebright chick that is not doing well. She was the first of the whole bunch to pip but the last to hatch. It turned out, she had her "cord" wrapped around her neck (I guess much the way human babies can sometimes be). As she was crawling around, she crawled over another egg in the bator and detached her cord from the tiny yolk sac/placenta she was still absorbing. It came off. She has done pretty good until about 2 hours ago & now she is laying on the bottom of the brooder and having trouble breathing and is panting with her little beak open. I think she needs to be dispatched. What is the quickest, easiest, most painless way? The only scissors I have here are kinda crappy and not very sharp.
How is your incubator temp? Did you decrease it for hatching? There is a possibility she is weak and overheating. If you are considering culling: Make sure she is bad off, and not just napping hard and recuperating. If your temp is okay and you are REALLY sure she is suffering. (No shears available.) You can hold her in your hand and put it in a sink of warm water. Hold until the chick is still. It sounds cruel, but you have to do, what you have to do.
There is a few methods for example the scissors, warm water method, lighter fluid etc. I'd give her some time first though at least 24-48 hours to see how she does. It could be that she's just tired from he long hatch. If you have to dispatch do it a way that you personally can deal with some people feel comfortable with one method others another and people rarely agree. Keep us posted with her progress. I really hope she is just tired and picks up soon as its always hard to cull a baby.
Quote:Thank you for putting that on here, I got slated the last time I mentioned it It is a very peaceful ending though and I prefer it that way
give her a little longer please! i hate to hear of any chick being culled i hope she's okay you never know, she may turn out to be all right
I didn't have to do anything. She passed away quietly and peacefully in the bottom of the brooder. I had spoken to a local chickenkeeper and APA member earlier who also suggested the drowning method, which she uses, as well. I hope everybody else continues to grow and get healthier and stronger. And next time, I'm not mixing bantams and LF eggs together in the incubator. Learned my lesson.
I'm so very sorry you lost one. I have been, well, "lucky" enough to have any really weak chicks succumb on their own before I could get up the courage to dispatch them. Because of that, I haven't yet had to do the responsible thing for a failing chick. I'm glad it passed quietly without your involvement. Just taken at its time. Sad, but .... better.
