When to cull a chick??

clucksnducklins

In the Brooder
Apr 1, 2022
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I have a chick that just hatched last night and both of its legs wont straighten.. It seemed like could be slipped tendons but I am not able to put them back.. There seems to be no remedy. I dont know if a chick chair will be helpful in this case and cant find a good enough picture of one to make one.. I dont want to cull it because from what i can tell the only real issue is that its legs wont straighten, and cant walk, it just stays stuck on its hocks.. Is this a case where I should cull it or is it worth keeping alive.?
 
Is it splayed leg? That is solvable.

I had a chick that had it's feet under it and couldn't straighten their legs up, but that one was gone the next morning all by itself.

I would give it a minute and see what is going on before you cull.
 

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I got it to drink some water tonight for the first time but it hasnt eaten anything.. I dont think it can bc its too weak.. So I gave it some sugar water bc that's all I could think of and it drank some and started opening its eyes more.. It seemed to struggle somewhat swallowing but did ok.. Just seemed very thirsty
 
Here's a homemade electrolyte drink you can feed with a dropper. Just put a drop at a time near her beak and she'll take it down.

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2017/02/homemade-electrolyte-recipe-chicks.html

That is what my chick looked like. I would keep her warm and hydrated and see if she recovers. I think they leg thing will fix itself if she does. It doesn't look like slipped tendons or splayed leg, I think it is just an affect of her condition.

I guess you could cull if she still can't eat or be normal in a day or so. It sounds like she may be coming up, though. You will be able to tell.

I have heard of people feeding wet feed into their beak, but I haven't done it, so I can't advise, but you might be able to find info on here.

I'll be hoping for the best :).
 
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Here's a homemade electrolyte drink you can feed with a dropper. Just put a drop at a time near her beak and she'll take it down.

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2017/02/homemade-electrolyte-recipe-chicks.html

That is what my chick looked like. I would keep her warm and hydrated and see if she recovers. I think they leg thing will fix itself if she does. It doesn't look like slipped tendons or splayed leg, I think it is just an affect of her condition.

I guess you could cull if she still can't eat or be normal in a day or so. It sounds like she may be coming up, though. You will be able to tell.

I have heard of people feeding wet feed into their beak, but I haven't done it, so I can't advise, but you might be able to find info on here.

I'll be hoping for the bes
I was afraid to check on her this morning but she made it through the night.. I gave her some of the older chicks water that has some electrolytes in it since that's what I had on hand..hopefully that is ok.. I'm going to try and find some kind of wet food to give it.. It projectile poo'ed on me this morning.. Not a good experience.. I noticed its crop look fuller today too when i compare pics from today to yesterday..
 

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