Ripley, the 4 legged chicken!?

OneMountainAcres · May 11, 2019

Peppercorngal said:
I can see problems coming. Already poop is accumulating around those extra feet. How is she going to lay an egg without entanglement? I wouldn't cull her or anything, just have a tendency to be realistic. The Danish word for "four" is "Fire" pronounced Fear. I'd find a word for four that you like for the name. Good luck!

I think sure actually laid in a fresh pile of poop. The extra legs move freely away so I don't think she'll have a problem laying eggs someday. If the time ever comes though where it's too much for her, I will call her but we'll see what happens

OneMountainAcres · May 11, 2019

aart said:
No Kidding!!!

Where is the vent in relation to the extra feet?
Are they just feet or leg bones too?
I know you may not know yet, but just can't help posing my questions.

I just did a little recon mission lol. It's almost like tiny hips (sort of) with little leg bones. The vent is off to the right of the legs. I'm going to check on her though because it looks like there's something in between the little legs. I haven't quite figured out yet though if it's another half formed vent? Another belly button? I don't know.

ShrekDawg · May 11, 2019

She is adorable!!!

Also I think I have heard of this before or at least similar.

I think it is called Polymelia and chickens (and also cows, humans, etc., can happen in lots of animals) are born with extra limbs whether that’s extra legs or extra wings (or arms), or whatever. But apparently it is not too uncommon. Not exactly common either but it does happen. I think there was another thread on here fairly recently, maybe a couple months ago, about someone with a chicken with the condition. I think that one might have had extra legs too. You might be able to find it by typing polymelia or extra limbs or similar in the search box.

And here is some info I found on it. Pretty interesting. And it seems most chickens can live relatively normal lives even with the extra limbs.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/polymelia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymelia

OneMountainAcres · May 14, 2019

I posted a few pictures of Ripley on the chicken keeping 101 page on Facebook and learned of several other chickens with the same condition. A couple died at very young ages, several grew up to be healthy adults. One had surgery as an adult and recovered to be an almost normal hen (with 2 vents still!) It was neat to see pictures and read stories of others' experiences. I invited them here to share their stories. Hopefully some will come!

Ms Clucky · May 11, 2019

Windmill for a name? LOL Maybe if there is no feeling to those extra legs you can snip them off. To bad she/he isn't just born, it would have been easier to clip maybe.

jennaa1434 · May 11, 2019

Hmmm I've never seen anything like this before, I'm thinking maybe she/he had a twin that they kinda absorbed together during incubation. Best of luck, and keep us updated on her/him!!

DellaMyDarling · May 11, 2019

I vote for Shiva.

OneMountainAcres · May 11, 2019

Texas Kiki said:
I think we need weekly Ripely updates.

I'll try to keep on top of it. You all have permission to yell at me if I slack?

fisherlady said:
Maybe I missed the info if it was already posted.... but what breed is she? Or was this a 'mixed egg layer' bin.

She's just a regular golden comet. Typical red sex link type

aart said:
That's what I thought I saw. Great pic.
Wonders what hatchery it came from?

Thanks! I can find out

OneMountainAcres · May 18, 2019

SueT said:
Can you tell if the extra feet are growing as she grows?

Yep, they're growing!

aart said:
Bantering about nail polish is fun(ny)...but really any color could stimulate pecking.
Hoping it's just funning.

Been wondering if other chicks are pecking at the extra feet...
...they do like to peck feet, and those are much easier to reach!

It's mostly in fun of course

. I haven't seen any of the other chicks messing with them yet thankfully.

OneMountainAcres · Jun 17, 2019

Ripley time! I think it may be safe to say that she only has one tail now. Those other weird feathers I think are just leg feathers for her extra legs

I tried to get her from a bunch of different angles. She's growing just as well as everyone else in the brooder