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pepperhounddog

pepperhounddog

Chirping
5 Years
Sep 29, 2014
10
3
67
Hi, I've kept chickens for several years now, & learnt the hard way that most chicks that are unable to survive on their own when newly hatched, are usually best left to the course of nature. However my little bantie hen recently hatched 11 eggs, all by herself,& I noticed that one of the chicks seemed unable to walk & looked a bit if a mess on one side. I was about to remove it from the nest along with the detritus of the hatch, when it wriggled back under the hen so I decided to leave it be. I was sure I would find it discarded in a day or two.

Well against all expectations this little one survived & I didn't see anything wrong with it until a few days later, one of its siblings knocked it over & stood on top of it! The poor little thing was waving its legs in the air & thrashing about with one wing.... The other seemed nonexistent & it just couldn't get up. Apart from having only one wing, it appears fit & healthy so I brought it indoors, as another incident like that would be fatal if I wasn't there to right it.

Looking on here, I've seen other chicks hatched with one wing which seem to survive. It is now about three weeks old & getting feathers. The ones outside are more feathered but I assume that being indoors makes the feathers come more slowly. As it has grown, the stumpy wing appears almost like a pocket; it appears attached to the skin where the wing tip ought to be. The chick is extremely tame & perky & has adapted very well. The only thing I'm a bit bothered about is a sore looking spot at the place where the wing tip ought to be. The chick is preening a lot & I'm worried it will make this sore spot worse. Should I put anything on it? New feathers seem a bit like teething!
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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Aww....poor baby. But I am glad you were there to save the little guy! You might put some antibiotic ointment on it to keep it from infecting. They also make some stop pick products that are supposed to taste bad so the bird does not preen this area. I think the names are Stop Pick and Pic No More. Not sure, but if you google this, you should find something.

If it gets really bad, you might get a picture and post it in our emergency section too for more help. I would think at some point the bird will stop messing with this area.

Birds can over come all kinds of disabilities and this one might live a wonderfully full life! Enjoy this little guy and we do welcome you to our flock!
 
I would suggest leaving it be for now. I've never had a problem with the feathers growing in, the chicks get them in with no problem at all.
How odd that it only has one wing! I've never heard of that before! If he/she was mine, he/she'd be my favorite!
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WELCOME TO BACKYARD CHICKENS!!!
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Thanks your replies & advice. It really is a comical little creature, & keeps itself ( and me!) amused by running around the aquarium & playing with cardboard boxes, a shiny mirror & a doggie key ring which was the same size as the chick at first, but is now dwarfed by it! I think I will just keep an eye on the sore area for now. If it survives it will be my favourite, and whatever happens it is certainly enjoying life at the moment :)
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pepperhounddog said:
Thanks your replies & advice. It really is a comical little creature, & keeps itself ( and me!) amused by running around the aquarium & playing with cardboard boxes, a shiny mirror & a doggie key ring which was the same size as the chick at first, but is now dwarfed by it! I think I will just keep an eye on the sore area for now. If it survives it will be my favourite, and whatever happens it is certainly enjoying life at the moment
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Absolutely adorable! Good luck with this baby. Sure looks healthy! :)
 
Welcome to BYC!

You will find a lot of good information here. Keep on asking questions and you will get many good answers.

You may also want to read the FAQ below.
 
It is very strange but the chick seems as though it is trying to free the "attached" wing. It does actually look like it might be coming loose, but I don't know if this would be a good thing..... Phew! The chick seemed really distressed, pulling at its wing, & when I examined it, the feathers were growing into the chick, sort of sewing its wing together! I gently teased out these feathers, & the deformed wing has come free! There isn't any bleeding, it just seemed as though the feathers were in growing. I've never seen the like!
 

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