ChickyMudder
Songster
I’m not new to hatching chicks. I started with my favorite hens and a back yard mix roo. This was my first heart break experience with splay leg. I learned the hard way that nutrition of the breed stock is imperative. We had 80% hatch rate with one little splay legged girl. We did all the things. We dropper fed, we taped, we did the glass … she wasted away and we culled little Linda. It was devastating.
I vowed to supplement nutrition before collection, collect eggs after the molt, and feed 18–20% protein to my breed stock.
I also feed game bird starter to newly hatched chicks for the first week. I don’t let them struggle to hatch for too long. At 24 hours after pip
, I assist. In my mind, it a chick that’s all scrunched up for 24 hours past its time could end up with developmental issues in its legs,
We have had no more splay leg issues.
I ordered rare breed Greenfire farm chicks. They said there was a defect in the incubator and the hatch was a little late. First day they looked ok (except a hernia of one). Next day two chicks developed splay leg.
Why the late development of splay leg?
I thought this issue was about nutrition? What other causes can this be where late splay leg happens?
Could incubators below temperature cause this?
Pic of the hernia
I vowed to supplement nutrition before collection, collect eggs after the molt, and feed 18–20% protein to my breed stock.
I also feed game bird starter to newly hatched chicks for the first week. I don’t let them struggle to hatch for too long. At 24 hours after pip
, I assist. In my mind, it a chick that’s all scrunched up for 24 hours past its time could end up with developmental issues in its legs,
We have had no more splay leg issues.
I ordered rare breed Greenfire farm chicks. They said there was a defect in the incubator and the hatch was a little late. First day they looked ok (except a hernia of one). Next day two chicks developed splay leg.
Why the late development of splay leg?
I thought this issue was about nutrition? What other causes can this be where late splay leg happens?
Could incubators below temperature cause this?
Pic of the hernia
Last edited:
