One of my chicks hatched from shipped eggs is little deformed.

[mama24]

It is a black Orpington. It only has one eye and it has a cross beak.

I am willing to bet it sat too long on one side and the embryo got stuck during shipping/ b/c the whole side of its face on the side where it has no eye looks kind of smooshed.

But it's only actual eye also doesn't look quite right. It has very thick eyelids and the eyeball looks very flat instead of round. It's very strange looking. But it can definitely see out of that eye b/c I watched it follow another chick to the waterer and get a drink this morning. The cross beak if what has me really worried. It's not bad at all right now, but the chick is only 2 days old. Might it get worse? What are the chances of this chick suffering vs being ok? Just wondering if I should cull now so it doesn't suffer as it gets bigger or if it's likely to be ok. I hate culling baby chicks when they're so chirpy and cute, but I have done it before and will do it if others with experience with this recommend it.

 

[VI KING RANCH]

To the top we go....i want to see some pics

 

[ReikiStar]

Oh gosh, born with the beak crossed. I'm going to vote for cull now.

And I'm a big proponent of cross beaks (we have one ourselves), but sometimes you just have to do what's best for them. If this chick is a hen and she makes it to egg laying age, some how I'm willing to guess she has other things wrong with her. I wouldn't want a bird like that to go through the stress of laying eggs.

I'm sorry but I vote to let it go now.

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

No Cull ),:

 

[Erica]

Hi Mama24,

You'll get opposing answers to this, but in view of the chick's probable pain and the certainty that the crossbill will get worse, I would cull. Crossbill is a skull deformity that almost always becomes more exaggerated as the chick grows.

Having said that, many have raised chicks with this deformity (though perhaps not as severe) to adulthood.

Good luck whatever you do.

Erica

 

[silkiechicken]

Personally I would cull. Cross beak and missing eye with deformed eye is probably due to a genetic defect lurking in the chick's genes over being stuck to a shell. When it was being shipped, there was no embryo in there to get stuck anywhere. The eyes of a 2-3 day embryo are both "on top" and flat. The embryo starts to turn between 60 and 72 hours with one side "up" and one side "down". The chick likely has other defects lurking inside of it. Cross beaks almost always get worse as they age because it is a skull plate deformity, and a deformed starting point just continues to grow funny as it enlarges.

 

[mama24]

Thanks for your replies.

I am going to cull it. No judgement please! I was going to update again b/c now it's only eye is watering badly and really looks funky. There is definitely something wrong with it and I am sure it can no longer see b/c it's stumbling around now.

The only other "blue Orp" egg in the order hatched covered in yolk, so now I'm wondering if since that one came from the same place if I should assume it's a bad line and just cull now before my kids get attached.

I have over 40 chickens now and I will not be able to tell its eggs from others if I decide to hatch mixed breeds from my layer flock (Which I'm sure I will.) And it would be cruel to house it by itself. And if it's a boy, it's headed for freezer camp anyway. Ugh! This is the hard part about raising chickens!

 

[ReikiStar]

Quote:

Yes it is.

 

[mama24]

I got the chick out again. It's "good" eye isn't watering anymore and it looks "ok." My dh and I figured out what is wrong with it when it blinked. It's eye is SIDEWAYS!!! It is so weird looking. Anyway, here are some pics. I'm going to take care of it after we get the little kids in bed.

 

[202roosterlane]

I had a chick born a few days ago excatly the same. One good eye and one side no eye, no eye socket and the side of it's head was sunken in and horribly disfigured beak. I too put it to rest.