Problem with new chick

[Anonymous]

Hi, ive hatched out 7 turkey chicks they are 2 days old but one of them can hardly stand, its legs seem to be spayed outwards , can anyone advise on what to do please ?? is this a common thing ?....Andrew.

 

[miks]

This seems to be quite common, and is known a spraddled legs. Different people have different ideas on how to deal with this. Some people cobble together a system of rubber bands or wool and bind the legs for a day or two in the hopes that it comes right. I dispatch them if they cannot stand after 24 hours in the hatcher. Having a very grippy surface in the hatcher seems to help, and I now hatch mine on a rubber faced mat with a fine interlocking grid of tiny rubber treads. It is made for use on the ramps of horse boxes so horses do not slip as they go in and out of the box, and you can sometimes buy offcuts suitable for the hatcher floor. Even this precaution is not guaranteed to help in a bad case, but slippery surfaces definitely exacerbate the problem.

 

[daniellesdogs]

iv never had any luck sorting out legs either so put out of misery, i do know a fue people put plaster round each ankle and straped together.
i use a tea towel or felt cleaning cloth in brooder for 1st week to stop it happning, but that rubber stuff sounds good idea and cleanable

 

[miks]

I've just been googling horse mats and there are lots of different types, not all suitable for what we want. I will post a photo of ours later. It is being used for hatching a mixed batch of turkeys and Toulouse geese at the moment....

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replys, i thought it would be the despatch method !! was hoping there was some easy way around this but obvouisy not and it would be cruel i know to keep it alive....this is the down side of keeping poultry.............................. Andy.

 

[miks]

This is a pic of the mat with newly hatched Toulouse gosling. And as Daniellesdogs says, it is a good idea to have a non-slip surface in the brooder too.

 

[Anonymous]

Ive despatched it, and to be honest its upset me, i have no problem when they are ready to eat but when they are just starting out makes it hard...Andy.

 

[Tim]

Sorry Andy :-(

It's never nice when you have to do that.