We ended up with 25 hatched chicks, the remaining seven chicks died in the shell without pipping (2 of which I believed died around day 16).
Of the 25, one had *sort of* splayed legs – I’m not convinced they were splayed at least not like the photos I have seen on splayed legs – he also had a soft abdomen and was one of the ones stuck in the shell on day 23 – this little one died over night:( Another six have slipped tendon (Perosis or “chick hock”) on one leg – as all six of these chicks were obtained from the same place, I believe it is a genetic or vitamin deficiency in the breeding stock.
I have tried taping and splinting the legs after repositioning the tendon, made slings in a small box to support their weight off the injured leg to give them a chance to heal, as well as put them on vitamins and minerals. Initially they were all managing to hop on one leg and eat and drink and looked healthy and alert, however over several days it became obvious that they were not going to recover and to prevent any further pain they were humanely pts. It was a very sad way to learn the importance of the health of breeding stock that I source my fertile eggs from (a valuable lesson as this applies to any other animals as well).
The remaining 18 chicks are happy, healthy and doing really well.
