To Cull or Not To Cull?

[JaeG]

Give her a few hours to rest and recover. Curled toes are easy to fix and you only have to tape them up for a day and they are generally fixed. It's just fun getting tape on such tiny toes and making sure they are straight! Do you have a little towel or cloth you could scrunch up and pop her under. She should try and snuggle up into it which strengthens their legs.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Her toes might just still look curled as mine do before they get their "land legs" on them. I learned I have to wait until they are up walking around before I make that specific call.

Dipping beaks rarely works for me and actually have aspirated a couple chicks which always ends in death and crackly sounding lungs.

I do however drip a drop right below the nostrils while holding the chick in my hand, beak facing the bend of my forefinger to help capture and direct the drop. If I miss the beak I just dip it into that single drop and they usually gobble instinctually when it rolls around into their mouth.

Make your water into a simple electrolyte recipe... 2 cups warm water, 2 tablespoons BROWN sugar (it has micronutrients), 1/2 teaspoon each salt AND baking soda. Stir until dissolved and serve full strength. If you *happen* to have salt substitute, (potassium chloride) add 1/2 teaspoon to this mix.

Do not worry about getting that baby to eat. It will dehydrate before it starves. They can be VERY sleepy right after hatching. I would do a drip to the beak every 15-30 minutes until I saw improvement. But probably give at least 24 hours from hatch to get land legs... I haven't timed that part yet.

If your able to get any vitamins... liquid bird from the pet department, nutridrench (it also has amino acids) from the feed store, or baby vitamins with NO iron (ensuring it has B's, like Poly Vi Sol).. would be helpful to add to the water. For weak birds they get the drop directly to the beak. Sometimes more than once. Some people might crush human vitamins, but I have NO experience with that.

I'm one of those who is quick to cull since I breed. I just did for splay leg and will for bent toes in the future. But I have experienced your dilemma time and time again. It is a very difficult and personal choice!

I would skip the friend. She is more likely to be trampled then encouraged at this point, in my experience... and "friend" is often just mad to be separated from it's other flock mates.

Until she rests and gets some energy enough to pick up her head, your wasting time dropping feed. I always crush the crumbles a little extra, it does usually help. But once she gets there, those are great suggestions! Both to drop it in front and run your finger through it a little. Since it might not be able to move in or out of the heat, you will need to make sure it is regulated. Sometimes I find this easiest by sticking back in the bator where it's a constant temp.

Congrats on your other babies!

Hope this one is just a late bloomer and pulls through for you.

 

[SarahGfa]

Give her a few hours to rest and recover. Curled toes are easy to fix and you only have to tape them up for a day and they are generally fixed. It's just fun getting tape on such tiny toes and making sure they are straight! Do you have a little towel or cloth you could scrunch up and pop her under. She should try and snuggle up into it which strengthens their legs.

Ha, you have an odd idea of fun! I wish you were nearby so you could tape her toes for me! I put in a 4-day old as a companion... it is a little hard to tell from the picture, but the older bird is the big dark blob and the baby has her head burrowed under the older bird's backside.

I will hold off on giving her a towel for now, because I think she is more comfortable snuggling into another bird.

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[SarahGfa]

Do not worry about getting that baby to eat. It will dehydrate before it starves. They can be VERY sleepy right after hatching. I would do a drip to the beak every 15-30 minutes until I saw improvement. But probably give at least 24 hours from hatch to get land legs... I haven't timed that part yet.

Thanks, I am giving her one or two drops of electrolyte liquid through a dropper every hour. I would do more, but she struggles a lot and seems to hate it

I think the toe curl could just be waiting for "land legs". Right now I want to help her pull through before worrying about her feet. So far she has not shown any improvement today... still not eating or drinking, unless I force some drops into her mouth

 

[SarahGfa]

All she does is sleep...

 

[SarahGfa]

Give her a few hours to rest and recover. Curled toes are easy to fix and you only have to tape them up for a day and they are generally fixed. It's just fun getting tape on such tiny toes and making sure they are straight! Do you have a little towel or cloth you could scrunch up and pop her under. She should try and snuggle up into it which strengthens their legs.

Okay, she started trying to walk and fell over immediately, so I made some shoes. I don't think she knows how to use her ankles, because she's just resting on the backs of her legs. OMG she hates me so much right now.

 

[lazy gardener]

What ES4L says. I will not hatch chicks without having a bottle of PND on hand. IMO, that's the most important thing to have available if dealing with chicks. I also drip the PND into the crook of my finger, and hold the chick so it can wick into her beak from the little bit that gets caught in the "wrinkles" of the finger joint. Electrolytes with the sugar water would also be helpful. If she does not perk up in the next 24 hours, I'd then cull her.

 

[JaeG]

Okay, she started trying to walk and fell over immediately, so I made some shoes. I don't think she knows how to use her ankles, because she's just resting on the backs of her legs. OMG she hates me so much right now.
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If quail have had a rough time hatching their legs are often weak. But she should improve. It could be because her feet feel funny too. It takes a bit of practice for them to walk in funny 'boots'. She'll forgive you!

 

[007Sean]

@SarahGfa , any improvement? Update?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Okay, she started trying to walk and fell over immediately, so I made some shoes. I don't think she knows how to use her ankles, because she's just resting on the backs of her legs. OMG she hates me so much right now.
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It's awesome that you are doing your best for her!

Bent toes will NOT in my experience make chicks fall over. Nutrient deficit will. Every hour is probably good enough for dripping water.

My first hatch with bent toes, all 4 are running around and acting normal from the get go... just with terrible toes. And yes they hate the shoes. To me if they aren't actually bent, the sandals might just make it harder. And weirdly, it like the whole outside bone is folded under. It was my first experience. Part of the reason I won't fix them in the future is it quickly becomes hard to tell them apart. I don't want the weakness in my stock and I don't want to give away my deformities to be riddling up the area... or for others to deal with.

If it's kinda stumbling forward or backwards, she may still just be learning balance. The fact that she IS TRYING at all... is a sign of improvement, though I'm not completely convinced it isn't standard resting after hatch.