Two of my hatchlings have funny feet! Please help :D

[amberconvery626]

Hi There

This is my first post so here goes...

Anyway, you can't really call this my 'first' time hatching as I've done it before but only with a heat lamp and a single egg which we found... But I made an incubator and just used a small batch of a mixture between rhode island red and cuckoo maran eggs to try it out. 3 were infertile and 3 died in very, very early development (within the first week).

Anyway.. Before I move further I'd just like to mention humidity was correct, temperature was correct EXCEPT at 2 stages (both in week 2 of incubation), and I turned them minimum of 3 times a day and they always lay on their sides and I did raise humidity late night on day 18 (heard some pip early so just incase...)

Yesterday (day 20) all 4 of the remaining eggs (I removed all dead/infertile ones) began to pip, and all had pipped by about 10 30AM.. Last night (I stayed up ALL night staring at them

so I know all the times), at 10 30PM my first one(Harley) hatched

. It encouraged the next one who had pipped first(Cadbury) but hadn't moved all day to start zipping crazily and he was about by about 2AM

. The other two eggs didn't show any progress at all but they were pipping and wriggling and chirping like mad. I was worried that the membrane had dried out and they were stuck but I know it's bad to rush into helping (I did this with the egg I found and turned out he hadn't finished absorbing his yolk sack; luckily I left him and he finished absorbing it).. This morning at about 9am one of the chicks hatched (Basil) but I noticed that two of his toes on the outside of his foot were slightly turned in and he couldn't balance well. It's now 6 30 in the evening and he's balanacing absolutely fine. I was going to make a splint for it but when he walks his foot somehow opens up and he walks just fine, but when he lays down it turns in again

. The last chick (Ringo) FINALLY hatched this afternoon at about 3 30PM

, so that's quite a while after he pipped... Anyway. He also has a bit of a funny foot

His toes are all crunched together.. He's walking just fine and he's fluffed out and seems healthy and he's going crazy in the brooder with his friends, but I'm just wondering about the foot

. He's walking on the side of it, but not on his ankle joint which I take is a good thing. I tried to make a splint but he got so stressed out so I've left it now...

Anyway, my question is (after that long story, didn't want to leave out any details!) what effect will the feet of the two chicks which are a little funny be if I don't fix them? They will be kept as pets in our garden, just the 4 of them, so they won't be in a huge batch of chickens or anything...

I have another question but going to post it on a new thread as it is completely unrelated

Thanks so much, any input would be appreciated!

Amber

 

[cmfarm]

You may just want to give them a little more time. Sometimes it takes a little while for everything to straighten out after they have been cramped in their tiny shells. Do you have any pictures to give us a better idea of how it looks? And not sure if you know this or not, but if your hens where the cuckoo marans and the rooster was the Rhode Island red than your chicks will be sex linked (but this won't work for the other way around).

 

[amberconvery626]

Yeah, I think that may have been what happened to Basil because his foot was also all crinkled when he walked at first but now it's straightened out.. Hoping that will happen with Ringo as well Really interesting fact RE. the rooster making them sex related... They are all pure breeds as the breeds were kept apart from the farm where I got them So glad they're all hatched out and fluffed up and eating/drinking! Now I can FINALLY get some sleep

I've only slept for about 40 minutes with 3 hour intervals in-between my naps since day 18; day 21 now and I am EXHAUSTED!

One more question; The chick who hatched latest started eating and drinking 2 hours after he hatched (think he was just following his friends!). Is this okay for them to do it so soon? I know they normally are fine for the first 24 hours after they hatch but my guys were up and running after about an hour

 

[amberconvery626]

Oh and with regards to having photos; unfortunately not I did try take but he has black feet so it's just a blur, you really can't see anything..

 

[cmfarm]

They can eat whenever they are ready to. Really the sooner they eat the better. I understand now, I thought you meant they were a mix between the 2 breeds, not eggs from 2 different breeds. Go get some sleep.

 

[amberconvery626]

Good news; Both the littlies feet are all sorted! By the next day they were absolutely fine Yay