Odd Duck

[Ra_]

My little Muscovy girl had her first clutch of 12 hatch 2 & 1/2 weeks ago.
One of the chicks had a deformity. He has a sort of hump that was the size of a second head when he hatched.

I probably should have culled him but I'm too soft. He tries so hard to keep up. It breaks your heart.
He's doing fine but he can't stuff it's crop like his siblings do so he's not growing quite as much.

I'm hoping that as Quasimodo grows, the deformity will stay the same size and not twist his head so severely.

 

[Bleenie]

I would have had someone cull the poor baby right away, I don't want to make you feel bad, i just couldnt see it grow up like that.

 

[Ra_]

Quote:
You're probably right but then I think of his Father, whom I'm using as my avatar.
Some predator got ahold of him and I found him trying to push his near limp body towards home with one leg.
He really looked like euthanasia was the only option and I came close to killing him
but I put him in a rabbit cage and nursed him for a few weeks. He recovered beautifully and he fathered this clutch.
I have managed to put a few bad cases down before but Quasimodo just doesn't seem to be suffering.

 

[cheeps]

Is the little guy able to eat and drink enough? From the pics I don't see how he could be...but I could be wrong. If he's not, mother nature might take care of the problem for you. I'm a big softie too, so I know how you feel. But, I can't stand to see something suffer either.

 

[Ra_]

Quote:
Yes. The others stuff themselves like pigs and their crops expand almost to the size of his hump.
He can't seem to consume quite as much but he makes up for it by eating more often.
He's aggressive at going for treats too, such as when I throw them rings of corn.
He also swims fine. He prefers to lay down between spurts of movement.
If he had cried a lot, I probably would have ended it for him but he seems comfortable with his fate.

 

[lovesduckies]

aweee poor fella, i wouldn't have put the baby down either. if he or she doesn't seem to be in pain, they why end it's life because of a little deformity???