NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — Earlier this week we shared a story regarding the good work that the Niagara SPCA continues to do especially during the spring time as many animals begin to have their babies.
In a social media post made to the SPCA's Facebook page on Wednesday, they sadly shared what many may not even realize is a bad practice during this time of the year at local schools.
Hatching baby chicks sounds like a fun experience for young students, but can actually be really damaging to the little birds themselves.
In the post the SPCA wrote "Every year we take in deformed chicks from schools that incubator hatch eggs. It's a practice, that frankly, we wish would end because it seems there is up to a 10-20% deformity rate with these babes in some cases."
They went on to add, "Those we take in have splayed legs or curled toes. In years past, the ones that survive have a buddy. Those who don't make it are often single kids or have other issues. We asked the school to send other chicks with this guy, but they declined. No negativity please. We're glad they surrendered the chick for help- we just want to increase its chance of survival by finding them a few companions."
In this specific case the chick they recently rescued, has what they identified as "Splayed Legs". According to the SPCA, and many other poultry resources online such as poultrydmv.com the condition left untreated is unlikely to allow the chick to thrive as it continues through life.
In hopes to help this specific chick rescued by the Niagara SPCA they said "We are looking for 2 buddies for our chick that are 1 - 2 days old. Anymore or any older and bullying can occur. Please don't drop chicks off at the Shelter, but comment below and we will respond and try to work out a way to get our little chick a few friends. Please let us know if you'd be willing to surrender newly hatched chicks to help a baby out."
In a comment on the post the SPCA also mentioned how "We'll be writing our area superintendents and principals. This is seen too often. Incubating eggs is sensitive and temperature or humidity variations can cause issues with the chicks."
Those looking to help out or view the full post, can check it out attached below.
To learn more about the Niagara SPCA click here.
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