Runty Chick

[FenceJumper]

The runty chick I helped hatch out is doing better . But he has a few problems .
1. he has curled toes!
2. he's very sleepy
3. he's not eating alot
4. about 2/3 the size of the other chicks
help!!!
also, I really love this chick. she is so sweet. I named her after her father Rambo. She's Rambo Little. :3

 

[lightchick]

You can fix the curled toes. And newly hatched chicks sleep a lot!

 

[smhoekzema]

When did he hatch? I wouldn't expect him to do to much in the first 24 or so hours other than sleep! Put some vitamins in the water to give him a boost. As for the curled toes, keep an eye out for a day or two to see if they straighten out but if they don't you can make a little cardboard boot to straighten them. This seems to be a bit common with the stuck ones.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have an assisted hatch chick who is doing so well that I now can't tell her apart from her sisters. She was shrink wrapped, and I helped her out of the top of the shell, then put her back until she kicked clear of the bottom. But she still had a lot of membrane left on her, and her left leg looked like it was dislocated and actually twisted 180 degrees in the opposite direction. So I just left her, thinking she was going to die. 6 hours later, she was still alive, so I immersed her in a warm sink, and cleaned the membranes off her. It took about 10 minutes, but the leg came back into position. Long story short, her curled toes, and splayed leg on that side were better by the time she was 24 hours old. If your chicks toes doesn't straighten out within 24 hours, I'd recommend that you put a boot on that foot. If there are no other issues, she may be just fine.