I got 14 eggs from a guy who lives nearby to put in my bator.
I think he wanted to see what would hatch, how they'd do, etc before getting a bator of his own. He has a mix of birds.
11 of the 14 hatched. The first one I noticed a problem with had a sort of double club foot. He couldn't walk. I gave him a day or so to see if they would straighten out over time and as he got more and more lethargic (probably because he couldn't reach the feed/water) I euthanized him.
The second one with issues had the same foot problems, eyes weren't open, and the umbilicus was open. yolk was fully absorbed at hatch but seeped out over time. He didn't make it 12 hours.
Now, at a few days old I just noticed that a third of his chicks has one "clubbed" foot. She's getting around some, but I don't think she's growing as well as the others that hatched that day.
I've hatched probably 6-8 bators full of eggs this spring/summer and haven't seen anything like this. All the other eggs were from my chickens. I've had unthrifty chicks that weren't vigorous at hatch and ended up dying, but none with obvious physical abnormalities.
I can't imagine it's not genetic, but the birds are different breeds. Probably all hatchery birds, but so are mine. I guess it could be a toxin or something around his birds. I dunno.
Wondering if anyone has any insight!!!
Kendra
PS I'm also wondering if I should euthanize this third chick. I don't want her to suffer, but she is getting around some, so I'm torn.
I think he wanted to see what would hatch, how they'd do, etc before getting a bator of his own. He has a mix of birds.
11 of the 14 hatched. The first one I noticed a problem with had a sort of double club foot. He couldn't walk. I gave him a day or so to see if they would straighten out over time and as he got more and more lethargic (probably because he couldn't reach the feed/water) I euthanized him.
The second one with issues had the same foot problems, eyes weren't open, and the umbilicus was open. yolk was fully absorbed at hatch but seeped out over time. He didn't make it 12 hours.
Now, at a few days old I just noticed that a third of his chicks has one "clubbed" foot. She's getting around some, but I don't think she's growing as well as the others that hatched that day.
I've hatched probably 6-8 bators full of eggs this spring/summer and haven't seen anything like this. All the other eggs were from my chickens. I've had unthrifty chicks that weren't vigorous at hatch and ended up dying, but none with obvious physical abnormalities.
I can't imagine it's not genetic, but the birds are different breeds. Probably all hatchery birds, but so are mine. I guess it could be a toxin or something around his birds. I dunno.
Wondering if anyone has any insight!!!
Kendra
PS I'm also wondering if I should euthanize this third chick. I don't want her to suffer, but she is getting around some, so I'm torn.
