The rare four-legged chick manages to walk few hours after hatching out from the egg in Dimapur on April 26. (Morung Photo)
Dimapur, April 26 (MExN): Local resident Ngango Yanthan was surprised when a four-legged chick hatched at his home ‘The Shelter’ in Lotha Colony, Dimapur. The rare four-legged chick hatched on Friday morning. It is as healthy as the rest eleven other chicks.
Yanthan said that he was surprised when he discovered the ‘freak chicken.’ The bird had two normal front legs but behind those was two more that was dragged behind when the chicken walks. They are of a similar size to the chick’s front legs. The chick drags the extra feet behind with some trouble but manages to feed itself without problem.
This is a birth defect condition which is referred to as polymelia wherein the affected animal is born with more than the usual number of limbs. Polymelia is a birth defect involving limbs (a type of dysmelia), in which the affected individual has more than the usual number of limbs. In humans and most land-dwelling animals, this means having five or more limbs. The extra limb is most commonly shrunken or deformed.
