I had a broody hen hatch out 10 chicks two weeks ago. I noticed that one chick was not able to stand and was only able to move by scooting/controlled falling. I separated him and put him in the brooder and kept an eye on him. Within 3 days he was walking normally and acting like a chick so I put him back with mamma and his siblings. Today, about a week after he is back with his family, I noticed him walking very funny. It appears as though his left hock joint was bending both ways (front and back) as well as a little bit to the outside. I put a hobble on him hoping this would help but it didn't. I initially thought it was splay but I think it was a slipped tendon. I tried to straighten the leg and get the tendon to slip back into the groove but I couldn't tell if it was back in or not. His joint was very swollen and it was hard to see/feel anything. There was quite a bit of fluid around the joint too and I could see little bulges pulsing and subsiding as I carefully manipulated the joint. He was in pain and peeped a lot. I felt really bad for the little guy. My wife used to work at a wildlife rehab facility for 5 years and I asked her to look at the chick. She agreed with my assessment that it was probably best to cull him. After a moment of silence, I agreed. He won't go to waste. We're falconers and we'll use him to nourish our kestrels. Regardless, I'm quite surprised at the sense of loss I feel. He was part of the the very first batch of eggs that I ever hatched. (ok the broody hen hatched them but you know what I mean.) I gave him a kiss on his head and let my wife take him off somewhere to do the deed.
I raise meat birds and have no problem processing them. I even spend a considerable amount of time watching my meaties and talking to them, but I guess it's just different. I feel like I lost a little friend. I sure hope there wasn't something I overlooked that would have helped him out. At any rate, he would have been part of my laying flock (I call him a he but I don't know the sex.) If he was a roo, then he'd be processed for meat and if he were a hen, then there's a chance that my next batch of eggs to hatch would have some genetic tendencies towards this condition and I really don't want to deal with this again. So for all those reasons I think I made the right choice but it was still a hard one to make.
Dan
I raise meat birds and have no problem processing them. I even spend a considerable amount of time watching my meaties and talking to them, but I guess it's just different. I feel like I lost a little friend. I sure hope there wasn't something I overlooked that would have helped him out. At any rate, he would have been part of my laying flock (I call him a he but I don't know the sex.) If he was a roo, then he'd be processed for meat and if he were a hen, then there's a chance that my next batch of eggs to hatch would have some genetic tendencies towards this condition and I really don't want to deal with this again. So for all those reasons I think I made the right choice but it was still a hard one to make.
Dan
