Not an injury; 'Tag' on chick's jaw.

[Zinjifrah]

Name that chick 'Fang'!

Actually, I'm calling it 'It!'

Tag. You're 'It'.

 

[aart]

Tag. You're 'It'.

 

[WVduckchick]

Actually, I'm calling it 'It!'

Tag. You're 'It'.

Have you ever done or seen spur reduction by the twist off method? I wonder if something like that would work on the tag.
I also have seen shining a light thru spurs and toenails, etc to see where the quick is, like candling. Would be neat to know what’s “inside” it.

 

[Zinjifrah]

Have you ever done or seen spur reduction by the twist off method? I wonder if something like that would work on the tag.
I also have seen shining a light thru spurs and toenails, etc to see where the quick is, like candling. Would be neat to know what’s “inside” it.

I have - but with the way this moves freely where it attaches to the skin, I'd be worried about ripping the skin if I tried to twist it. It's not anchored to anything 'inside', just to the skin itself. I did try shining a light to test transparency, and at this point it's very opaque. Lights really only work with transparent claws - I haven't ever tried it on a spur, but I suspect the method is the same. Light colored claws - at least on dogs and cats - you can usually see the 'quick', or blood vessel, inside even without using a light. Dark claws are much more difficult to trim, and usually mean shaving the claw down a little at a time to avoid pain.

With this, what I would do would be similar to how I'd deal with a broken claw on one of my dogs, I think. Use a sharp pair of clippers, and sever it close to the skin, though not at skin level, with immediate application of pressure and styptic powder. Possibly cauterize, if necessary. That would be a two-person job, though... one to hold the chick, the other to treat the tag, and by choice I'd have a licensed veterinarian do it! And not the one who refused to consider anything but an intestinal blockage when my dog got poisoned. The dog died. The only thing the vet would do was tell me to give him cat hairball remedy. I'd rather treat the chick myself than take it to her! She'd probably decide it was a turkey vulture with indigestion.

 

[Zinjifrah]

Two and a half weeks old.

Photo of tag;

The growth of the tag has unquestionably slowed, and it is remaining of comparable length to the beak from tip to nares.

Photo of chick overall;

It has a very healthy voice. Very LOUD.

Progression;

Egg set 6-6-18, Hatched 6-27-18.

6-27-18: 33 grams.
6-30-18: 38 grams. Five gram gain.
7-04-18: 54 grams. Sixteen gram gain.
7-07-18: 68 grams. Fourteen gram gain.
7-10-18: 81 grams. Thirteen gram gain.
7-14-18: 113 grams. Thirty two gram gain. Can you say 'growth spurt'?

This chick and its 'twin', the runt of the bunch, are the only two who have the 'fender' feathers on their hocks. Not sure if this could be an indicator of the maternal breed or not. They also have much heavier foot feathering than the rest.

 

[Kiki]

Are you still going to continue to just watch this tag grow?

 

[Zinjifrah]

Are you still going to continue to just watch this tag grow?

It's not posing any problem to the chick. Even the older birds show no interest in the tag while it's out running around; all eight have been getting supervised mingling time a few times a day, and today the only real argument was with the Seramas. The older two Seramas - pullet and cockerel - crawled into the chick pen and wanted to camp out in there, couldn't care less about all the young ones running around them. They were very indignant when I evicted them.

Unless it starts to pose a problem, such as growing too large, I anticipate leaving it alone.

 

[Zinjifrah]

Three weeks old.

I took a half dozen pictures with the ruler, and none of them turned out. After putting It back out into the run with the other chicks, I came in to edit down the images, and discovered that - so I went back out to get her to try and take a few more... and she had blood on her. On examination, it looks like she caught the tag on something and broke it, so I cut it off about an eighth of an inch from the skin - where it was broken. Stopped the bleeding with styptic powder, then coated it with blue. The chicks still pecked at it when I put her back, but apparently it tastes bad, so that didn't last long, and the bleeding did not start again.

The exterior of the tag is hard horn-like material, such as is found in beaks and claws. However, the core is pale and slightly spongy, with a vein running through the center of it. Unfortunately, my camera isn't good enough to get a decent photo... the removed portion can be compressed, but it's tough and resilient, returning to its shape when pressure is released. Similar to what I would expect to see in a broken dog or cat claw, and presumably similar to a chicken's beak, claw or spur.

Progression;

Egg set 6-6-18, Hatched 6-27-18.

6-27-18: 33 grams.
6-30-18: 38 grams. Five gram gain.
7-04-18: 54 grams. Sixteen gram gain.
7-07-18: 68 grams. Fourteen gram gain.
7-10-18: 81 grams. Thirteen gram gain.
7-14-18: 113 grams. Thirty two gram gain.
7-18-18: 140 grams. Twenty seven gram gain. Growth spurt continues.

 

[WVduckchick]

Such a gorgeous chick!
I guess now it’s a question of will it grow back?

 

[Zinjifrah]

Such a gorgeous chick!
I guess now it’s a question of will it grow back?

Yep. I didn't cauterize, so it's entirely possible - and I'll be watching for that. I think if it does, I'll have to either have it surgically removed or keep it trimmed. If you look closely in the photo, it was starting to pull at the chick's skin a bit.

And thank you! Not that I had much to do with that... but man, that chick has fluffy feet! She looks like she's walking around in snowshoes, but it doesn't slow her down any.