Hope for the Deformed Chick

One of my chick orders contained a deformed chick. She didn’t look too bad at first, but the older she got the worse she looked. As she grew, her spine kept extending beyond her neck, so that she had a definite oval shape, with her head on one side. Even her tail bent toward the side of her body where her neck and head were. I kept thinking she would die, and we often discussed whether we needed to end her life. But she never seemed to be in pain, and managed to move around (though I was often sure the time would come when she would tip over); also, my daughter took a liking to her, named her Rosie, and began carrying her around. By 4 months she looked worse than ever, head completely on the side of her body, and I was sure we had to add her to the butcher list. My daughter insisted we give her a little longer, so we again postponed. Ah, the faith of a child!

Now 7 months old, Rosie has miraculously straightened around. Her neck looks almost normal, and there are often times when the only way I can tell her from the other hens is to look at her tail, which still turns slightly to one side. While she will never be put in the breeding pen to pass on her traits to offspring, she is a faithful producer of eggs for my family’s consumption, and a treasured pet for my daughter.

So don’t give up on those chicks that aren’t perfect. If they’re in pain, they should be put humanely out of their misery. But if they’re plucky enough to be enjoying life in the state they’re in, feel free to give ‘em a chance. It might turn out to be very worth it!

I wish I had photos of Rosie when she was so horribly bent so you could see the difference, but I didn't take any that I can find. Here she is now: