Please help, can I treat this chick or does it need to be culled?

Chanchilla

Chirping
Sep 22, 2023
40
32
51
My eggs that were shipped to me across the state just started hatching. As expected, most didn't make it to lockdown. This is one of two ayam cemani to make it. The first is doing very well, but the second is puny and weak.

It was the fourth to hatch, and had trouble from the beginning. It got out of the egg, but had an umbilical with some yolk still attached. The other chicks had that off before I was able to set up the secondary incubator to separate him. They were pecking at him and he's so small compared to them that I was worried they might hurt him. So he's alone in a separate incubator right now.

As you can see, he's extremely small and his toes are still curled; 24 hrs later, he walks on his curled toes and is unable to get far before flopping over. He only just started opening his eyes (24hrs later.)

I'm still very new to having/hatching/raising chicks, this is my first hatching experience and second "flock" of chicks. I know some people might recommend immediately culling a weak chick, but if I could save it, I'd like to.

If trying to save it would just be prolonging the inevitable or give it a poor quality of life, then please tell me that too.

It also has an extremely bad odor.

Does anyone have any insight or experience? Here's a video, please take a look. It appears one wing (it's right) is deformed in some way, and it's walking in its hocks. It's about half the size of a regular chick. I don't know if it can see, but it hasn't found the food or water.
Please, I need advice. https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/small-disabled-chick.7959350/
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20231016_014840828.jpg
    PXL_20231016_014840828.jpg
    273.5 KB · Views: 41
  • PXL_20231015_183321515.jpg
    PXL_20231015_183321515.jpg
    267.2 KB · Views: 23
  • PXL_20231015_184913126.MP.jpg
    PXL_20231015_184913126.MP.jpg
    263 KB · Views: 19
  • PXL_20231016_135759193.jpg
    PXL_20231016_135759193.jpg
    333.3 KB · Views: 24
Last edited:
My eggs that were shipped to me across the state just started hatching. As expected, most didn't make it to lockdown. This is one of two ayam cemani to make it. The first is doing very well, but the second is puny and weak.

It was the fourth to hatch, and had trouble from the beginning. It got out of the egg, but had an umbilical with some yolk still attached. The other chicks had that off before I was able to set up the secondary incubator to separate him. They were pecking at him and he's so small compared to them that I was worried they might hurt him. So he's alone in a separate incubator right now.

As you can see, he's extremely small and his toes are still curled; 24 hrs later, he walks on his curled toes and is unable to get far before flopping over. He only just started opening his eyes (24hrs later.)

I'm still very new to having/hatching/raising chicks, this is my first hatching experience and second "flock" of chicks. I know some people might recommend immediately culling a weak chick, but if I could save it, I'd like to.

If trying to save it would just be prolonging the inevitable or give it a poor quality of life, then please tell me that too.

It also has an extremely bad odor.

Does anyone have any insight or experience? Here's a video, please take a look. It appears one wing (it's right) is deformed in some way, and it's walking in its hocks. It's about half the size of a regular chick. I don't know if it can see, but it hasn't found the food or water.
Please, I need advice. https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/small-disabled-chick.7959350/
Your chick is absolutely worth trying to save. I would put a bit of vitamins in their water, and do that every other day. It could be from the mother. It could be a lot of reasons but that will help if it's a vitamin deficiency.

You can splint those feet. Here is an article that shows one way. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/corrective-“shoes”-for-chicks.76391/
 
It was ultimately culled. Shame that there were plenty of views, but no other advice, guidance, or support.
Thanks, Debbie, for chiming in. Unfortunately, she wouldn't drink or eat. I don't think I could have gotten any liquid into her without a syringe.
Felt so helpless, and she seemed to be suffering, so did what I thought I had to. I hope it was the right decision.
This was my first time culling anything, and it's enough that I don't think I'll be hatching ever again.
 
I'm so sorry you had to cull. It is a necessary task in some cases, but it is never a pleasant one.

She might have had something wrong with her internally, along with everything that you were seeing.

In my experience, most chickens are very food motivated. When I see a chicken refusing food, I can generally assume that there is something very wrong.
 
It was ultimately culled. Shame that there were plenty of views, but no other advice, guidance, or support.
Thanks, Debbie, for chiming in. Unfortunately, she wouldn't drink or eat. I don't think I could have gotten any liquid into her without a syringe.
Felt so helpless, and she seemed to be suffering, so did what I thought I had to. I hope it was the right decision.
This was my first time culling anything, and it's enough that I don't think I'll be hatching ever again.
Sometimes chicks are just not healthy. You could have done everything right, and it would have still turned out sick or unhealthy. I wouldn’t give up after one bad experience though. Hatching chicks can be super fun and rewarding!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom