Help Needed - New Hatchling Pheasant 1-18-2010

[texascowboy1979]

So my pheasants started breeding back in Dec 18th 2009. This is there 1st season. they have never laid eggs before. The birds are about 1 year old. The male has all his plumage.. he just got in back in November. Of all the eggs, "about 30"... only one is fertile. The eggs are about 3/4ths to 1/2 the size of a normal pheasant egg. My egg finally hatched Saturday morning... he is still in the incubator on the bottom tray.

My concern is... he sleeps on his back... he really cant walk... what do I do? Should I handle him and try to get him to sit up... When I sit him up.. .he stays, but when he trys to walk, he flips over on his side... is this normal and will it go away or does he require intervention...

 

[jenjscott]

Seems like by now he should be able to get around. Does he have any obvious deformity of his limbs?

 

[texascowboy1979]

He looks compleatly normal... just smaller over all. he's about 1/2 to 3/4ths the size of a normal phesant chick.

 

[jenjscott]

How's he doing this morning? Perhaps it is related to the small egg size. I would be very concerned that he would not be able to get enough to eat and drink. I would not expect him to do well if he is not up and about.

 

[texascowboy1979]

He woke up today walking!!! I gave him feed and water... lets see if he eats.. I bought him a day old chick to help him with the task of eatting and drinking... Ill keep you posted.

 

[SamG347]

Good Luck with him...I always have chicks like that...that start off weak...they are usually the smallest or the ones that had trouble hatching. They usually come around the 2nd-3rd day.
Hope he is doing well

 

[texascowboy1979]

He seems to be doing fine... his walk is a little wider.. but nothing to be alarmed about... so far... but he's the cutest little button... Ill see about getting pics soon to show you.

 

[m-192]

i know this is a few months late but i just hatched my first 2 pheasants. one thursday morning and the 2nd this morning. the 1st was was walking within a few hours. the 2nd on is trying but cant seem to get its legs under itself. it look perfectly normal except when its trying to get up it legs are splayed. when i held it in my hand once it cot its legs under it it was fine but it couldnt walk just fell over. probly just a bit weaker. ill check on it tomorrow. i did have a 3rd egg the first egg i collected on march 12 and it was supposed to hatch monday. but it didnt so i was gonna throw the egg away today, and i heard it peeping. soo i know im not supposed to but i was curious and i wsa afraid the humidity was too low and maybe it was stuck or something... anywho i cracked it open gently and it was alive... but its head was disfigured there was to way it was gonna get outa that egg. i hated to do it but i knew it wouldnt survive so i disposed of it. whoaa sorry bout the loong post. just figured id let ppl know that have actually hatched before. ive raised day old chicks for a few years now but just started this year with hatching.

 

[kartking22]

I have hatched a few thousand pheasant chicks. I come across many chicks that have problems including the one that you have described. These chicks usually didn't survive despite my efforts to help them. Even problems with splayed legs limited thier ability to get to the food and were also targeted by the healthier chicks. Some chicks would throw thier heads back and fall over also. I found that it was more humane to dispose of these chicks rather than let them suffer from the pecking of other chicks.