Issue with the chicks balance.

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Fusty

In the Brooder
Mar 19, 2021
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Hey you chicken experts. I have a question about the last chick to hatch from my recent incubated clutch of eggs.
The chick took quite a while to hatch and when she finally did she was quite off balance. I am well aware that is completely normal so I didnt think anything of it. It's now been about 36 hours and she still has little to no balance, she also began to scratch her neck up from trying to stand up. We bandaged her little toes so that she cant harm herself and that seemed to provide a small bit of balance to her, as if having her toes splayed out by the bandages managed to allow her to stand some. She was still having a lot of difficulty staying off her back however, so we ended up fashioning a sort of crutch support thing. I'm very worried about her, she seems to be bent to one side and when she breathes you can feel a slight clicking noise. What do you all think is wrong? Do you have any suggestions for how to help this little guy out?
20210325_234703.jpg

Here she is in her little crutch, we suspended her so that she would stop flipping herself over.
 
If she isn't able to walk within a day or two after hatching, it's time to cull her. If you don't do it, the other chicks will do it for you... and they will be extremely cruel.

I don't like to cull chicks either, so I found the most merciful way (for both of us) is to wrap the chick in paper towels and put it in a plastic ziplock bag. I push all the air out of the bag before sealing it. Then I put the bag away on the porch where I won't hear the chick if it peeps.

Usually they don't peep as long as they're warm enough. They just fall asleep when the oxygen in the bag gets low.

My last hatch was really terrible, the second worst ever -- out of 18 eggs, only 4 hatched. The incubator was probably too warm, because they hatched days early, and 2 of the four had leg problems. One was so deformed that I culled it. The other has a wonky leg, but I kept him because if anything happened to one of the healthy chicks, the wonky chick could keep the remaining one from being lonely.

Well, little Frogwalker struggled for a week just to push himself to food, water, and warmth. Thank goodness his brothers didn't pick on him, because he has no defenses. But he's game -- he's learned how to stand on his good leg by resting his wonky leg (that sticks out to the side) on the edge of the feeder! He stands there looking very proud and pleased with himself -- Look at me! I'm standing up just like the others!

He may make it to adulthood after all. If he's actually a she, I may keep her in the flock, as I'm fairly sure the birth defect isn't genetic, but is due to improper incubation.
 
I think unfortunately parvani is right.
The chick is very deficient in Vitamins by the sounds of it so you need to feed it some vitamins to regain some strength. If it is able to eat and drink by itself there might be hope but the chick will get very lonely if it has to stay like this.
Fingers crossed you can save it. Feed it egg yolk and make sure it has access to food and water while in the sling.

you can tape some bottle caps to it to fill with food and water
 
My chick is currently having this same problem. But she can't seem to keep her legs in the position required to walk. But instead both tend to stick out forward.
 
Fusty said:
Hey you chicken experts. I have a question about the last chick to hatch from my recent incubated clutch of eggs.
The chick took quite a while to hatch and when she finally did she was quite off balance. I am well aware that is completely normal so I didnt think anything of it. It's now been about 36 hours and she still has little to no balance, she also began to scratch her neck up from trying to stand up. We bandaged her little toes so that she cant harm herself and that seemed to provide a small bit of balance to her, as if having her toes splayed out by the bandages managed to allow her to stand some. She was still having a lot of difficulty staying off her back however, so we ended up fashioning a sort of crutch support thing. I'm very worried about her, she seems to be bent to one side and when she breathes you can feel a slight clicking noise. What do you all think is wrong? Do you have any suggestions for how to help this little guy out?
View attachment 2585925
Here she is in her little crutch, we suspended her so that she would stop flipping herself over.
Click to expand...
I have one that just hatched and is having similar problems. Did yours make it? @Fusty @Anime2lover
 
Anime2lover said:
Yes, mine made it and i s a thriving happy little easter egger. We helped ours by giving her a few drops of vitamins, made a chick chair, and had her in it with her own individual water and food cups for two days and two nights.
Click to expand...
What vitamins did you use to feed it?
 

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