The adventures of L & D & the bad hatch

[pandorican]

This ones gonna be a bit long, sorry. I’m posting to share my experience so far in case anyone else has these issues, and to see what wisdom y’all might have to add to it all.
So, I hatched my first full brood in the incubator Monday (I had done a few successful hatches but only got 2/1 respectively, because they were eggs mom abandoned that I got to too late. This time, I pulled a nest worth because mom had just hatched a brood a month before & 2 months before that & I wanted her to take a break. (She didn’t listen, just hid the next nest and is currently 2 weeks into sitting on 12 more, sigh.)

So 14 in, 12 still kicking on day 28. Moving and pipping along. However… One egg (L was his egg letter so that’s what we call him) that had been very active had stopped moving, and I just had a bad feeling. I did an emergency air hole first, waited, nothing, bad feeling got worse. Eventually I broke down and widened the air hole so I could peek in the air sac, hoping to see beak. No beak. I could see breathing under the inner membrane but it was very labored, and slowing. I inspected the egg and found a dark brown spot on the bottom of the small side, and I recognized that spot from other hatches where one had attempted to pip but lost interest/strength & couldn’t.
So I painstakingly went into that spot- first with a screw to make an air hole then tweezed away enough outer shell to make sure I had the beak. Yup. I let him be, checking periodically to see if he was absorbing & make sure he could still breathe.
But I think all that weakened him, because most of the others had hatched-except for one- and he hadn’t made any progress either. Paranoid now, I made a spy hole in the last slacker, D, to make sure he wasn’t also mal positioned. (He was fine)
After another 24 hours D started struggling and I realized he was shrink wrapped so I started slowly helping him, and checked to find L was too. It was a slow process because they were both stuck to the membrane and unable to move around in there but also not completely done absorbing. So I’d free as much as I could without causing bleeds, try to moisten membranes- wait-and-repeat thing. Hours later-I lost track, but it was a looooong three days at this point- both were finally out.
Upon cleaning the remaining goo off them and drying I realized they were both kinda stuck in their egg positions. D’s neck tilted to the right, L’s to the left
L also had one leg that splayed, and a clubbing of the opposite foot. Both were lethargic. I separated them and waited, unsure if they’d make it. They did, D got active first, and aside from the slightly cricked neck, seemed fine.
L was another story. He couldn’t really walk due to the leg and even with his feet under him he fell over a bunch because of the neck issue. View attachment 3128128
I gave him some vitamin soaked wet food, and he enthusiastically ate it, and was obviously TRYING to make it-So, I did a bunch of searching, found a few posts about similar egg-bound related problems, and most everything seemed to indicate I could help him, if I intervened while he was still little and moldable.
I made tape hobbles for the leg, and then fashioned a neck brace with foam and hard tape. Then had to add a paper towel holder, because even with the collar, it still went to the left. The bend is further down.
View attachment 3128130
He’s the worlds most mild mannered sweet little dude. He just relaxes while I subject him to all manner of indignities, and once all trussed up in this getup he just kinda rolls himself around.
D I left alone hoping it would self correct.
(It did not. It’s actually gotten worse.)
L’s hobbles and everything came off so I could assess and let him have some exercise. It took a few tries but he got his feet under him and was running around with the pack like a champ, swimming and everything.
The toes on the clubbed foot are definitely curling under when he walks, and the neck is still not fully corrected, but the leg splay seems fixed.
So I removed the hobbles but replaced the neck brace and have taped the foot to a guitar pick- (which BTW is the perfect size for an itty duck foot, and won’t fall apart like cardboard when wet.)

I tried to brace D as well but, he’s having none of it and keeps wiggling out-picking parts off- and is also being bullied by the others. He’s too mobile to be in the infirmary area with L who is mostly immobile while braced- he keeps kicking the little log duckie around and stepping on his head, so finally I gave up for now.

I’m encouraged by the progress he’s made. He was so happy running with the rest tonight, he’s significantly smaller, but kept up with everyone just fine. View attachment 3128132
You can see the size difference here.
These ducks are bound for a farm when they are off the brooder, so I’m trying to fix what I can to avoid anyone getting culled. Not sure what I’m doing about D at this point, I may have to wait until L is done with the infirmary space and hope it’s not too late.
L on the other hand, kind of feels like he’s meant to be a therapy duck for someone. He’s a sweet little fighter.

Too everything off for swim time this evening. The bracing is definitely making a difference. It’s very obvious when L is next to D, the difference between bracing the neck and not bracing it

The larger on the left and alone in the last pic is D. Tiny lil guy is L

He’s very happy to get to be part of the post swim ducky pile today. (The ones with their necks hanging down are just being weirdos. A couple of my adults sleep like that when they’re on the couch sometimes)

 

[Miss Lydia]

Those are some really cute weirdo's lol
Great news on the improvements.

 

[pandorican]

Those are some really cute weirdo's lol
Great news on the improvements.

Thanks. I’m encouraged by L’s progress and hoping I still have time to correct D’s issue-and that he will let me. I got him into the collar overnight finally but the splinting aspect didn’t last long because he managed to soak the 1/2 a cardboard tube I’ve been using (he can’t fit in the waterer) , rendering it squishy and thus unhelpful.
I’ve tried several variations of the splinting part, with varying degrees of success. L Is not super mobile when his is on so he’s not getting his wet. I also tried this,

attaching the end to his upper leg with a non-sticky-tape cuff I made. It worked but felt too dangerous to leave on overnight and was more restricting to his movement.
I’ve also tried sponges, (they don’t go down far enough) and just kind of vet-tape wrapping around the neck-not stiff enough to hold in place.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wonder if cutting down a pool noodle would work?

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Wonder if cutting down a pool noodle would work?

Maybe, if the inside diameter is wide enough to not restrict air flow or food going down. You don't want to accidently choke the poor chicken.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Might have to do some whittling to get it to work.

 

[pandorican]

Might have to do some whittling to get it to work.

I’d actually thought of this. It might’ve worked.
But…The entire brood of 12 all died several days ago.
I’m absolutely devastated. And I have no idea WHAT happened.
It’s like they were poisoned. Was brutally fast. L went a few hours before the rest-I wasn’t here when it happened and didn’t see him, my husband took him out before I got home, and he thought it was related to his issues. He was significantly smaller than the rest though, so if something did poison them, it makes sense that he would’ve been affected first.
When I got home they were all weakly tweeting and barely moving.
I called a neighbor (who has a full farm at the back of our subdivision) for help. She is 3 min away.
They were gone by the time she got here. I tried desperately to DO something but it was obvious nothing could be done, so I just held them as they died.

The only change in their life was I’d switched them to
This feed (from duck all lifestages crumbles) the day before. It was a bag the other adult ducks (who are fine) had been eating from for weeks. And a brand and type (pellets) that I’ve switched other babies to with no issues in the past.

I’ve only lost one (post-hatch) duckling before, and I know it comes with the territory, but losing them ALL like this-with no reason I can figure out-has been really, really hard. It HAD to have been the food somehow, but it doesn’t really make sense. They didn’t all choke at the same time. There were no symptoms beforehand, there was no blood or vomiting or bloody stool or diarrhea, no eye bubbles, they’d been eating and drinking and pooping and active like normal.

I saved a bit of the batch of food in a (well labeled) bag, threw the rest out and returned the new bag of pellet-formed food I’d been out buying. (I also told the store where I’d gotten it just in case.)

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am so sorry to hear this. I can't imagine what it could have been had they been outside on the ground where they may have eaten toxic? If not it would have had to be the feed but if the older ducks haven't had any issues it just doesn't make sense. I'm am heart broken for you

 

[pandorican]

I am so sorry to hear this. I can't imagine what it could have been had they been outside on the ground where they may have eaten toxic? If not it would have had to be the feed but if the older ducks haven't had any issues it just doesn't make sense. I'm am heart broken for you

Thank you. I can’t stop flashing back to it, it was awful.
No, they hadn’t been outside yet, just in the brooder and in an enclosure in my living room.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I’d actually thought of this. It might’ve worked.
But…The entire brood of 12 all died several days ago.
I’m absolutely devastated. And I have no idea WHAT happened.
It’s like they were poisoned. Was brutally fast. L went a few hours before the rest-I wasn’t here when it happened and didn’t see him, my husband took him out before I got home, and he thought it was related to his issues. He was significantly smaller than the rest though, so if something did poison them, it makes sense that he would’ve been affected first.
When I got home they were all weakly tweeting and barely moving.
I called a neighbor (who has a full farm at the back of our subdivision) for help. She is 3 min away.
They were gone by the time she got here. I tried desperately to DO something but it was obvious nothing could be done, so I just held them as they died.

The only change in their life was I’d switched them to View attachment 3143328View attachment 3143329
This feed (from duck all lifestages crumbles) the day before. It was a bag the other adult ducks (who are fine) had been eating from for weeks. And a brand and type (pellets) that I’ve switched other babies to with no issues in the past.

I’ve only lost one (post-hatch) duckling before, and I know it comes with the territory, but losing them ALL like this-with no reason I can figure out-has been really, really hard. It HAD to have been the food somehow, but it doesn’t really make sense. They didn’t all choke at the same time. There were no symptoms beforehand, there was no blood or vomiting or bloody stool or diarrhea, no eye bubbles, they’d been eating and drinking and pooping and active like normal.

I saved a bit of the batch of food in a (well labeled) bag, threw the rest out and returned the new bag of pellet-formed food I’d been out buying. (I also told the store where I’d gotten it just in case.)

Anyone have any thoughts?

I came back to check on how things were going and was horrified to read this. I am so sorry.
I opened a new bag of chicken feed this morning and it has something in it. I don't know if is a dead mouse coated in crumbles or a clump of molded food or something else. The whole bag is going back to the feed store, including the top I cut off. I am not feeding that "stuff" to my chickens.
They can fry up the battered mouse and eat it themselves.