Jelibaen
Songster
Hello everyone! Pre-post warning: this will contain several photos of a duckling with a hole in the skull that will be upsetting to some. You have been warned.
My hatches this year have been. Odd to say the least. With Chernobyl the three legged baby (who is still doing great, will post an update later) and now this duckling, I'm wondering if I have a genetic issue in my flock.
The duckling in question hatched last night. I got home at 11pm and it was flat on the bottom of the incubator, still damp and nowhere near its egg. I thought it was dead, but then I saw it breathing. So I took it out of the incubator and saw this.
It was virtually non-responsive. No blink reflex, no deep pain response, eyes were basically dry. Breathing and heartrate were there but fairly slow (RR 20-30rpm, HR varied between 50-70bpm). It would occasionally move its neck and left wing, but otherwise had no reflexes. Circulation was poor - its legs and bill were pale and the feet were cold. Didnt make a sound.
I couldn't get a good photo of inside the skull cavity, but all I could see was the brain cavity with... no brain. I could see the front of the skull that lined up with the orbit, and there was a bit of tissue on the back covering the brainstem, but otherwise it was totally empty.
At first I thought it was a complication with a crested gene. I dont have any crested ducks, but I suspect one of my females carries the gene because I have hatched out one or two crested babies before. But as far as I know, none of my males have it.
As I got to thinking about it more today, that doesnt really make any sense. The lethal component of the crested gene shouldn't allow them to make it to hatch, AND the complications of the crest are because of the hole exposing the brain itself to potential damage.
The only thing I could find that would potentially be a differential diagnosis would be anencephaly, which unfortunately is not very well studied in animals. There are many cases of humans having it, and one study on a German Shepherd puppy, but I couldn't find a single case of it in a non-mammal. I do not think this is a first - I just dont think it happens enough to be reported and studied.
The hatchling was culled shortly after the photos were taken and my coworker has put it into formalin to preserve it for educational purposes. We work in a vet clinic and sometimes work with the local college to show their animal health students some strange cases. This would definitely fit the bill.
My hatches this year have been. Odd to say the least. With Chernobyl the three legged baby (who is still doing great, will post an update later) and now this duckling, I'm wondering if I have a genetic issue in my flock.
The duckling in question hatched last night. I got home at 11pm and it was flat on the bottom of the incubator, still damp and nowhere near its egg. I thought it was dead, but then I saw it breathing. So I took it out of the incubator and saw this.
It was virtually non-responsive. No blink reflex, no deep pain response, eyes were basically dry. Breathing and heartrate were there but fairly slow (RR 20-30rpm, HR varied between 50-70bpm). It would occasionally move its neck and left wing, but otherwise had no reflexes. Circulation was poor - its legs and bill were pale and the feet were cold. Didnt make a sound.
I couldn't get a good photo of inside the skull cavity, but all I could see was the brain cavity with... no brain. I could see the front of the skull that lined up with the orbit, and there was a bit of tissue on the back covering the brainstem, but otherwise it was totally empty.
At first I thought it was a complication with a crested gene. I dont have any crested ducks, but I suspect one of my females carries the gene because I have hatched out one or two crested babies before. But as far as I know, none of my males have it.
As I got to thinking about it more today, that doesnt really make any sense. The lethal component of the crested gene shouldn't allow them to make it to hatch, AND the complications of the crest are because of the hole exposing the brain itself to potential damage.
The only thing I could find that would potentially be a differential diagnosis would be anencephaly, which unfortunately is not very well studied in animals. There are many cases of humans having it, and one study on a German Shepherd puppy, but I couldn't find a single case of it in a non-mammal. I do not think this is a first - I just dont think it happens enough to be reported and studied.
The hatchling was culled shortly after the photos were taken and my coworker has put it into formalin to preserve it for educational purposes. We work in a vet clinic and sometimes work with the local college to show their animal health students some strange cases. This would definitely fit the bill.
