Sick Chick Emergency please help

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

Just an update, chick deteriorated tonight, struggling to even sit up, still no attempt to eat or drink. His joints in his bad leg became terribly red and swollen. Had my son look at her who works on a farm and he pointed out quite major deformities which would mean she would be unlikely to ever walk, would need to be held for feeding and drinking and would never be able to join her hatchmates so we made the very difficult decision to euthanise her. Culling a gorgeous cheeping chick is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Breaking her neck, slitting her throat or cutting her head off to kill her were not things I could even begin to consider do I was relieves when I found out about the baking soda and vinegar method. We put baking soda in a small tub, placed this in a large airtight tub which had soft comfortable bedding in and placed her on the bedding. We poured white vinegar into the baking soda and immediately shut the lid. She drifted off very peacefully as if just going to sleep, we left the tub sealed for 10 min just to be sure she had passed away. I was just glad I didn't have to ķill her in some gruesome way as I couldn't bring myself to do it even though I knew I was saving her from huge suffering and pain and possibly a far more painful death. I still feel awful that I couldn't do anything to make her better.
I have learned a valuable lesson from this which is to buy eggs from reputable sources not private online sellers. The eggs deteriorated so much during incubation there must have been severe nutritional deficiencies in the chicks mother which is why only one of the 6 is still alive and she has leg problems too just not as severe. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the one remaining survivor. Buying hatching eggs from a private online seller may not seem a big deal but it is when you factor in all the needless suffering that these poor chicks experienced. I know people think they were only chicks but they were living creatures who experience pain and suffering just like we can.
Everyone please think twice before buying fertile eggs from people like this on ebay. You are letting your chicks and possibly yourself too in for a world of hurt if you aren't lucky.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry

 

[Meg22]

So sorry for you. Had to do the same for our slipped tendon chick when it was clear she wouldn't recover and was suffering. Not easy. Well done for helping her go peacefully.

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

It is heartbreaking to hear them clearly suffering. People think incubating and keeping chicks and chickens is all cute chicks and comical hens but they don't realise the biggest responsibility comes when things go wrong and you have to pluck up enough courage to end a life especially when it is a gorgeous little chick. I now have another injured chick because 8 of the other chicks attacked her. Another leg injury. I hope this one recovers, she can move it so hopefully it is just shocked and sore. I've put her in a mug in a incubator at present keeping her upright and hopefully keep her leg in a relatively normal position.

But thank you for your support