please help...new to raising chicks!!!

[fleabag3]

here is our new family. we are having fun getting to know them and learn about having chickens for pets. i would love your input on sex and what type they are. there is one that had some trouble getting out of the egg and his head is weird. i would like to know if it is ok to keep him or if it is inhumane...i want to do what is best for him/her. i dont mind having a handicapped chicken, but dont want him/her to suffer either. he/she eats and drinks and the others dont pick on him, but he hasnt grown much and all he does is sleep eat and drink. for names we have the striped one is Tiger, the black one is Splash, the yellow with dark head is Hawkey and the all yellow with triangle on head is Petie. My litte brown baby with a crooked head is Slushie
thanks!

 

[citychickx6]

I am rather new here as well. From what I have been reading you must have 10 posts before you can add pictures and photobucket is the way many upload their pics here.
Welcome Welcome Welcome.

Guess I was wrong since once it redirected when I submitted I see the cute chicks.

 

[JodyJo]

Is the one in your lap the one with the messed up head?

Is that your water dish in the shot? If so, you need to connect a mason jar and fill it up...they will die quite soon without constant water supply.
Is that the brooder you have them in? Or do you have another container with the food etc?

Too young to sex,and I am not an expert on the breeds...they are beautiful, I hope, in fact I know, someone else will come along and tell you
the breeds...if the one with the messed up head, Slushie, is the one in your lap, and he/she is eating alright, you can keep it and see what happens...
there is a lady on here raising one without any eyes...if she can do it, you can too...

 

[fleabag3]

yes...they have a mason jar...it usually ends up everywhere and i have to fill it several times a day! they are in a box...i have a light i put on them but they are good. they have food all the time...eating me out of house and home! lol slushie is eating and drinking well, just seems his head goes further and further the wrong way, his head does go the right way if you hold it up, but i guess the muscles didnt develop.

 

[kentuckysilkies]

If the chick with the curved neck does not "cry", makes pitiful little noises, then it is not in pain. Just keep an eye on it to make sure that the other chicks don't pick on it. It is too early to identify sex. There is nothing about the coloration that suggest a particular breed. Post again in a few weeks and you will get some answers.

 

[oesdog]

A lot of folk here have handicapped hens - there isn't an issue with that as long as YOU can devote the time they need! You must remember that a lot of the time healthy birds bulldoze them out of the way and they can't get the food or water quickly enough so you may have to feed that one seperately. Also they may pick on it as it grows. So you may have to seperate it but as long as it gets loads of love and attention, is not in pain and has a good happy life then there is no reason to cull. Many folk here have handicapped so don;t worry about that it is the quality of life you are able to give it. If it wants to fight to survive then go for it.

Welcome!!!!!!!!

Oesdog

 

[Tres Amigas]

Try searching "wry neck" here on BYC -- I've never dealt with it, but it sounds like it may be an issue with your chicklett. I believe the consensus on this forum is that the baby vitamin drops Poly-Vi-Sol without iron may help this condition if given a drop or two in the water or applied along the beak line. Worth a try! Some very knowlegable people here have recommended it. If you do this, be sure not to put liquid in an open mouth so it doesn't go into the lungs. You always want to drip a drop along the closed beak - that way they will swallow naturally and not choke. Mind you, I've never had to do it (and am no expert by any means), but stick around - there's a wealth of information from folks who know on this forum. Good luck with your chooks - they're cuties, alright!

 

[ShelsSilkies]

I have a handicap cuckoo silkie borm 5-13-11. She was born with splayed legs, so I put braces on her (a piece of ribbon) before she was a day old. Then at three days old, Im guessing her brain was swelling because she went into seizure like actions, for three days. I kept her in the incubator this whole time for steady temp and protection (like a hospital for her). I figured I was going to lose her, but when I checked on her on day 4 she looked up at me through the windows. ( I was very happy) She learned to walk correctly, so on day 6 I took braces off her legs. She eating and drinking very well, oh and walked perfect. So on day 7-8 she went into the brooder with her sisters. BUT she is a down syndrome silkie. Runs in circles when I call her name," Forest". She is my babie & is doing great, just a little clueless. So be patient, give a little extra love and s/he will be great.

 

[fleabag3]

thanks everyone for your help! i really appreciate it and look forward to getting to know everyone and learn a whole lot! i did buy the vitamins and will see how that goes. he/she does eat and drink fine and the others arnt picking on him/her yet. i will watch. i was afraid of that in the beginning so i took him/her out and separated him/her from the other 4 and all he/she did was cry constantly. so i figured he didnt want to be alone and the stress from that would be worse than putting them together. he is a little unsteady on his feet, b/c obvoiusly when your head i almost upside down, you are not as with it, but he pushes right in there and eats and drinks and snuggles up with the rest of them. i hope he makes it...he is my favorite. the kids dont play with him as much as the others. i think they are a little afraid of hurting him. just curious...but why do you have to have the vitamins without iron? i bought the w/o iron drops, but was wondering what would the iron do to him? thanks again!

 

[fleabag3]

ok...new issue with "handicapped" bird....i did the vitamins, as suggested, and he is oh so much better!!! but, now there is a growth or something on the right side of his neck. so his head is straight up and down, but there is a bubble (for lack of a better word) on his neck...it was just small, now it is quite big..i will try to post pic. it felt soft like fluid before, now it is hard...can it be drained??