36 hour old peachick with curled feet and odd legs.

NDgoatgirlNV

Songster
5 Years
Jul 1, 2015
305
102
156
Ivins, Utah 84738
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I have put feet braces on his feet to try to move them into the correct position, he has had these on for almost 24 hours now. I tried bracing his legs with medical tape like i read about on another forum article, but he can't hardly move around at all with the leg brace on. without the leg brace he walks around on his "knees" with his feet up in the air. Is this a common problem?

Also here is the story of how this poor little guy came into this world.

He was born high up on a shelf in a barn here in So. Nevada. The owner did not even realize the peahen had a nest up there and yesterday morning heard squeaking/chirping from in between the wall and the paneling of the barn. This little one had hatched and had somehow worked its way to a gap between the paneling and the wall and fell about 5 feet between the wall and paneling of the barn. He was found the morning of his hatch kind of balled up and not really walking but shuffling around on his knees with his feet up in the air over his head like in the picture i took. Should I put the leg brace back on in the hopes that he will develop better and more correct muscle tone? Can he live to adulthood being a knee-walker?

I have owned chickens, guineas and ducklings, but this is my first peachick. He is eating his diced eggs and drinking water just fine. Is there anything else I can feed him other than Egg Yolks? I was thinking of getting some crickets from the local pet store, but wasn't sure about it. Any help or info would be highly appreciated. Thank you!!
 
There are a number of threads here with advice about feet/leg problems.
I find that I keep citing these "burrito" threads:

@frenchblackcopper 's "burrito" - basically holds the legs in the position that they should properly be in: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/896809/fixing-splayed-legs
@KsKingBee developed an alternate "sock burrito," see his posts on this page: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/971214/2015-peafowl-hatching-support-group-eggs-and-chicks/80

If you go through both of these threads there's a lot of helpful information about leg problems, but it's hard to tell exactly what your guy's problem is so it's hard to know if this will help you.

Can you post better photos of his legs? It will help the pea-leg-experts to help you!

I should add that one common theme in peababy leg/foot advice is that the sooner you take action the more likely that you will be able to help the little guy.
 
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Wonder now if this chick hatched from the small side of the egg? Instead of the air sack end? I'd lay odds it hatched that way now with walking on it's knees problem.Or when pinned between the wall it's butt was down and the legs extended forward with it's toes by it's beak. Since it's only a day or so old I would get them tied the proper distance apart then tucked under the chick as if in the sitting position then wrap it up in newspaper tight enough so the kegs cannot go forward or backwards,,,stapling the newspaper makes this easy. I don't think it will survive being a kneee walker,,it could never sit on a perch and be grounded for life being a easy meal for any predator and the backs of it's knees would probably be worn thru and bleed,,,ect.
 
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This is Tripp(photo taken about an hour ago today) he is now 6 days old, I have braced his legs & feet and even did the burrito treatment for the last 5 days, we removed his braces this morning and his legs are still W'd.....guess I'll re-brace and burrito again and see how it goes in a few more days.

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Poor cute little guy @NDgoatgirlNV ...looks like he needs more help but so glad you are sticking with him!
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Hey guys, do you think burrito is the right treatment for this little guy??
It looks like he needs something to train his legs to descend instead of ascend.
Any ideas? Maybe the sling was a good idea after all?
 
Poor cute little guy @NDgoatgirlNV
...looks like he needs more help but so glad you are sticking with him! :thumbsup

Hey guys, do you think burrito is the right treatment for this little guy??
It looks like he needs something to train his legs to descend instead of ascend.
Any ideas? Maybe the sling was a good idea after all?


He's a little fighter too, I'm trying a new burrito method using a bandana....it kind of forces his legs into a more weight baring position.
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If a sweater of sorts were made with the leg openings back some so the upper thigh was against the body with the lower leg coming thru the opening this might work. Imagine a normal peachick when it's sitting down on top of it's legs. The thigh is up against the body tight and this is where this peachick is having the difficulties. The thighs needs to be against the body tight and a hole made for the leg to come thru directly under where the upper thigh and lower leg joint is. I've had this happen as well from chicks that try and hatch from the wrong end. The legs are up by the head and are basically useless to help when trying to break free from the egg.The rearend of the chick is shoved down so far against the airsack the legs are pushed forwards and the toes are by the beak. In a circumstance like this i think the muscles develope the way the leg is extended. Is hyperextended the correct word? You may have a long battle here that is unwinnable but any help we can offer and if the chick does pull thru it would be very rewarding to see for all of us.
 
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