nicolevg
Songster
We just got our baby chicks in the mail this morning from Murray McMurray Hatchery. Six of the seven RIR girls were alive and extremely healthy looking. When I ordered, I said I wanted an extra chick of the hatchery's choosing 'cause I was assuming at least 1 of the chicks I ordered would die at some point in the first several days (which happened). I think the one they sent us is a male sultan chick, which I'm not complaining about at all. He'll be our first rooster, so we'll see what that will be like.
When I first took them out of the box and showed them the water, he was doing the worst and I thought he may not make it. His gate was very unbalanced and he walked in a zipzag/circle pattern for the first hour or so. He had a hard time getting back to the water and food, and I helped him out and that seemed to help him gain his strength. He also had a poopy butt, but once he had a chance to decompress and get some food and water and warmth in him, I cleaned that up and he seemed to do much better after that. (None of the RIR girls had poopy butts, problems walking, & all took to the water and food and warmer instantaneously. They seem like extremely hardy little birds.)
But now, he's been thriving for the past 5 hours and is VERY vocal and energetic. Problem is, he's still unstable on his feet (though nowhere nearly as bad as when he first came out of the box. He's actually quite fast now) and I think the reason for that is that he may be blind in one of his eyes. I can't tell if it's an infection or some sort of deformity/abnormality. His eye (to me, with my very limited chicken knowledge and experience) looks like the eyes of chicks that have just hatched.
Any ideas? Attached is one photo of "his good side" and two photos of his bum eye.
I know basically nothing about heritage breeds or breeds meant for show or to keep as pets. I just started keeping chickens this past spring (bought year-old hens from a local lady) & have so far chosen all my breeds based on their egg-laying abilities and hardiness to both hot summers and cold winters. I was thinking maybe since sultans are a heritage/rare breed that perhaps they're more prone to genetic disorders. Any information on heritage breeds/sultans would be appreciated, as I'm just starting researching all that stuff now... never had a reason to before.
When I first took them out of the box and showed them the water, he was doing the worst and I thought he may not make it. His gate was very unbalanced and he walked in a zipzag/circle pattern for the first hour or so. He had a hard time getting back to the water and food, and I helped him out and that seemed to help him gain his strength. He also had a poopy butt, but once he had a chance to decompress and get some food and water and warmth in him, I cleaned that up and he seemed to do much better after that. (None of the RIR girls had poopy butts, problems walking, & all took to the water and food and warmer instantaneously. They seem like extremely hardy little birds.)
But now, he's been thriving for the past 5 hours and is VERY vocal and energetic. Problem is, he's still unstable on his feet (though nowhere nearly as bad as when he first came out of the box. He's actually quite fast now) and I think the reason for that is that he may be blind in one of his eyes. I can't tell if it's an infection or some sort of deformity/abnormality. His eye (to me, with my very limited chicken knowledge and experience) looks like the eyes of chicks that have just hatched.
Any ideas? Attached is one photo of "his good side" and two photos of his bum eye.
I know basically nothing about heritage breeds or breeds meant for show or to keep as pets. I just started keeping chickens this past spring (bought year-old hens from a local lady) & have so far chosen all my breeds based on their egg-laying abilities and hardiness to both hot summers and cold winters. I was thinking maybe since sultans are a heritage/rare breed that perhaps they're more prone to genetic disorders. Any information on heritage breeds/sultans would be appreciated, as I'm just starting researching all that stuff now... never had a reason to before.
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