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October 19th 2018 a little chicken hatched from her shell. When she was very small there was little evidence of the severity of her scoliosis, but it was apparent that she may need some extra TLC.
The photo above is her on her first day home. She was 1 week old. She was from a batch of somewhat reject chicks.
Starlight's (chick in left of photo) posture wasn't perfectly normal, but she was still young and her severe scoliosis was in early stages.
The poor little chick to her right also had a growth deformity. Her name was Xena, she passed away at 7 weeks. We miss her dearly, but when chicks have aliments it isn't easy for them. They grow very fast and things can quickly go south. Xena passed from organ failure. She never grew a tail, had a vaulted skull and suffered with a poorly formed gizzard. Poor little dear. I am very strongly against intentionally breeding for vaulted skulls.. but that is another conversation.
Here they are enjoying some foraging time under my very vigilant eyes. As you can see Xena (in the middle) was still tiny. She was a large breed chicken and should have been larger than the pekin bantam on the right of the photo. They were the same age and she was half the size with poor feather growth. The posture of Starlight's neck was starting to shift, and become more apparent.
This story is about Starlight. She has two nearly 90 degree kinks in her neck. She requires daily crop massages to help her. Some days she is fine, but other days she gets a little backed up and massaging helps her digest properly.
She is an amazingly sweet bird. Chickens in general are very sweet and social beings. Anconas have a reputation for being very bonded to their family, but standoffish with new people. So sometimes they are described as flighty and jumpy. She is my first ancona and also a special needs bird. I have not noticed any negative personality traits. She will stand on my shoulder whilst I tend to the other chickens and she has learned to step up on request.
I am just glad I was able to provide a loving home to birds that would normally be killed. Even poor sweet Xena. At least she had a chance to have friends, wing hugs, and time to be a chicken. Chickens are generally not valued as they should be. Human have exploited their amazing evolutionary tricks. They have resilient chicks that can live a few days without food. This was intended so that the hen can leave the nest with a full clutch since hatching times can vary. It breaks my heart when they aren't able to be chickens.
A video of her on my lap. She is not camera shy.
Shared album - parrot salad - Google Photos
I will try and update this post from time to time. There may be another chicken parent out there with a scoliosis bird. It is actually a common malformation in inbred leghorns. I do not know what causes it in Anconas. Being of a similar body type to Leghorns... I sometimes wonder if Starlight's parents were brother and sister.
Starlight has been in the chicken enclosure and joined the flock. She is adjusting ok, but it is never easy to find your place in the pecking order. She is molting now. Fun ancona fact, with each molt they get more and more white speckles. When they are elderly their colour can change to almost all white.
The photo above is her on her first day home. She was 1 week old. She was from a batch of somewhat reject chicks.
Starlight's (chick in left of photo) posture wasn't perfectly normal, but she was still young and her severe scoliosis was in early stages.
The poor little chick to her right also had a growth deformity. Her name was Xena, she passed away at 7 weeks. We miss her dearly, but when chicks have aliments it isn't easy for them. They grow very fast and things can quickly go south. Xena passed from organ failure. She never grew a tail, had a vaulted skull and suffered with a poorly formed gizzard. Poor little dear. I am very strongly against intentionally breeding for vaulted skulls.. but that is another conversation.
Here they are enjoying some foraging time under my very vigilant eyes. As you can see Xena (in the middle) was still tiny. She was a large breed chicken and should have been larger than the pekin bantam on the right of the photo. They were the same age and she was half the size with poor feather growth. The posture of Starlight's neck was starting to shift, and become more apparent.
This story is about Starlight. She has two nearly 90 degree kinks in her neck. She requires daily crop massages to help her. Some days she is fine, but other days she gets a little backed up and massaging helps her digest properly.
She is an amazingly sweet bird. Chickens in general are very sweet and social beings. Anconas have a reputation for being very bonded to their family, but standoffish with new people. So sometimes they are described as flighty and jumpy. She is my first ancona and also a special needs bird. I have not noticed any negative personality traits. She will stand on my shoulder whilst I tend to the other chickens and she has learned to step up on request.
I am just glad I was able to provide a loving home to birds that would normally be killed. Even poor sweet Xena. At least she had a chance to have friends, wing hugs, and time to be a chicken. Chickens are generally not valued as they should be. Human have exploited their amazing evolutionary tricks. They have resilient chicks that can live a few days without food. This was intended so that the hen can leave the nest with a full clutch since hatching times can vary. It breaks my heart when they aren't able to be chickens.
A video of her on my lap. She is not camera shy.
Shared album - parrot salad - Google Photos
I will try and update this post from time to time. There may be another chicken parent out there with a scoliosis bird. It is actually a common malformation in inbred leghorns. I do not know what causes it in Anconas. Being of a similar body type to Leghorns... I sometimes wonder if Starlight's parents were brother and sister.
Starlight has been in the chicken enclosure and joined the flock. She is adjusting ok, but it is never easy to find your place in the pecking order. She is molting now. Fun ancona fact, with each molt they get more and more white speckles. When they are elderly their colour can change to almost all white.
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