Questions about a deformed chick - ADVICE NEEDED

[dorkomatic]

Hi byc,

I am a new member (but not new to the site)
I have been hatching my own eggs for a long time and have never encountered this problem. I had a chick hatch today with a severe cross beak and only 1 eye. Has anyone else ever had this problem? any advice?

I feel a little guilty because the chick should have never hatched. It had been in the egg for awhile (all the others had hatched) and I still heard peeping so I opened it up. The chick is fluffy and moving around. It seems otherwise healthy. I am not sure if I should cull it or not. He is just so stinkin cute, I don't wanna.....

Also, i am wondering if this is most likely a genetic problem. I had purchased the eggs online and it was a bad hatch. only 50% and most seem small for their breed. The other eggs that I had in the bator at the same time all hatched well. Should I think twice about adding these birds to my breeding flock?

-Thanks-

 

[countrygoddess]

I had two of 3 eggs die in the hatcher so I opened them to find out why (I do that with all my dead eggs). BOTH had severe cross bills, one had one eye, and one had no eyes. I found some really great information online to determine possible causes of deaths and defects at all stages of incubation/hatching (I can't remember the website it came from, but when I figure it out, I'll post it).

I think the cause of the defects was due to the eggs becoming too chilled while stored prior to putting them in the incubator. I was keeping them in the basement, but it really was too cold down there. In fact, 9 of the 12 eggs I put in the incubator never even developed, and I wonder if that was because of the cold, too.

 

[countrygoddess]

What kind of chicken are they?

 

[dorkomatic]

sorry about your chicks! I would def like to know about that web site if you can find it. My chicks are BBS ameraucana's. I know the eggs were not cold at my house, but who knows what happened while they were in the mail or before they were shipped. Thanks

 

[countrygoddess]

Here's the troubleshooting guide. See #16 under specific problems. Another cause of these defects could be poor breeder stock nutrition. That wasn't the issue with mine because I make my own feed and I know it's superior, but with shipped eggs, you just don't know...

 

[Reurra]

As with any deformity, its advisable not to add birds into your flock for possible breeding. And with such severe disabilities you put the bird at risk of being tormented by its stronger mates.

Deformities can be caused by a number of things, poor breeding, heavy inbreeding, poor nutrition, shipped eggs getting damaged, bacterial infection in the egg, temperature issues....the list goes on.

I bought a few Sussex chicks from a local kid who breeds for 4-H. However, I soon found out he heavily inbreeds and the chicks have weird combs and one has a wry tail, some even have strange skin growths. I was going to use these birds for breeding, but because of these defects, they are useless to me. They will be going into the stew pot here in about 2 weeks. I know it sounds callous, but I cannot risk spreading these defects on to future generations. It could cause problems later on. Especially wry tail.

Physical defects that inhibit the birds quality of life is something I will not allow to soften me up again. I had a little roo named Stumpy. He could not walk like a normal chick and always slumped down after a couple of steps. After he his about 9 weeks, he could not walk at all. I had hand fed him and babied him since he was hatched and in the end, I had to cull him. It was extremely difficult because the older he got, the more attached I became. I knew it would need to be done, but I put it off as long as I could. It was my own selfish feelings of sympathy for the chick that allowed him to live so long in such a condition. I know he was not happy, and seeing him like that did not make me happy. Its better to cull them and not get attached. If you get attached, its very hard to do what is necessary.

Be strong, for him and for yourself. You are doing both of you a favor.

I sometimes wonder if God mad chicks so darn cute as a survival mechanism.

 

[countrygoddess]

I have 30 8- and 9-wk old chicks right now that I incubated and hatched myself. One of them, a black Ameraucana, was fine until it hit about 3 or so weeks old, when it must have had a growth spurt that revealed a problem with its jaw. It developed a cross bill almost overnight. =( Turns out it was a pullet and she did fine with the crumbly chick feed and chicken nipple waterers I use, but when the chicks were 6 weeks old and I moved them to a grow-out pen and switched them to whole grain feed (that I make), it became obvious that she would never be able to eat again. She just couldn't pick up and manipulate the food to get it down her throat. I had to have my husband cull her. =(

 

[dorkomatic]

Thanks for the response. I can see where you are coming from. I don't want to get in the situation where the chick is suffering and quality of life is bad. The problem is, at this time I just can't tell if it will impede his quality of life. He runs around with the other chicks and does not seem bothered. The real test will be when his yolk is used up. I will post a pic if i can figure out how.

 

[GranmaEm]

I sometimes wonder if God mad chicks so darn cute as a survival mechanism.

A wonderful observation. It is a recognised theory that all young animals are cute and attractive to ensure survival. And that's also why labs, for instance, stay so puppy-like for so long.

We bred them to retain puppy features (big eyes, soft faces) and it comes through in their behaviour too!