Chick Dragging her leg? Updates of Negu. *New Update (7/6) Pg 5. Pictures added!*

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sunny & the 5 egg layers

sunny & the 5 egg layers

Crowing
8 Years
Mar 29, 2011
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I picked up this chick (along with 5 others) yesterday at tractor supply. She is a bantam (not sure what breed). The lady gave her to us for free because of a leg problem she has. I have been trying to fix her leg all day using Hair bands, band aids, bread ties, goze tape, etc. Nothing seems to be working.


Pictures:







She has feeling in her leg because occasionally when one of the other bantams step on or peck her leg she will chirp and move away. I am making sure that she is drinking (I am working on the food part.). She also has save-a-chick in her water.

My questions include:
-What can I do for her leg?
-What are the chances that if we cannot fix her leg that she will be able to thrive as an adult bird?
-How can I fix her leg?
 
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That doesn't look good. Can she bare any weight on it? Is it stuck in that position or is she just dragging it like that?
 
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I would take the chick back to TSC if they give no warrenty on the chick cull it. It sounds cold but it will die eventually anyway.
If you gave the chick a few days after the refusal from TSC it would not hurt.
Its got some type of nerve damage or a birth defect.
 
cmfarm said:
That doesn't look good. Can she bare any weight on it? Is it stuck in that position or is she just dragging it like that?
Click to expand...

She is just dragging it like that. It will bend (if I bend it) so she does have a joint.




Rockyriver said:
I would take the chick back to TSC if they give no warrenty on the chick cull it. It sounds cold but it will die eventually anyway.
If you gave the chick a few days after the refusal from TSC it would not hurt.
Its got some type of nerve damage or a birth defect.
Click to expand...
I don't want to take the chick back, sorry. I picked it out of the bin and the sales associate told me that she would give me her and another chick (the runt, which passed away yesterday) for free. I also got 4 healthy chicks. I am not going to cull it, if it will live a happy life then I don't want to. If I was to bring this chick back to TSC (which I am not) then she will just get trampled over by the other bantams. I am willing to give this chick all the care it needs as a chick and an adult, otherwise I wouldn't have got it. Thanks for your suggestion though.



Any ideas on what I can do for her and her leg? She (surprisingly) is very active. She hops around the brooder. But she is active just like a normal chick.
 
i don't know if this will work for her, but this is what i do when i have chicks hatch that have curled toes....i take a very small piece of something firm (cardboard, posterboard, egg carton) cut it to fit her foot. then take some tape (duct tape works pretty well cuz it goes well between the toes). you will need another person to help you. place her foot on top of the cardboard (or whatever) and carefully spread her toes like they should be, then tape them in place with toes separated with tape meeting the hard surface between the toes. make sure the tape is big enough to wrap around the foot and under the hard thingy. they say the sooner after hatch that you do this, the better. i know ur girl is a bit older...but it's worth a try. what can it hurt? but i will say, be very careful as you spread her toes, if it feels like her toes will not go straight, then don't force them. and if nothing works and she just ends up with a bum leg...well i've seen plenty of pics with chickens with special needs and she's got the least of the problems that i've seen some chickens have (very bad crossed beak or blind or deaf etc). i've seen pics and stories of chickens that thrive just fine with one leg. i believe your girl will be fine. good luck with her!!
 
Nothing is working, I don't know what else to do. I have tried yarn, rubber bands, hair bands, bread ties, goze tape, band aids, household tape, removable tape and the list goes on. If she is eating and drinking okay and hopping around alright and very alert then will she be okay if left alone?
idunno.gif
I am out of ideas, but I am not out of hope. She is the cutest little thing and I am thinking of naming her Happy Feet.
gig.gif
 
chkinut said:
i don't know if this will work for her, but this is what i do when i have chicks hatch that have curled toes....i take a very small piece of something firm (cardboard, posterboard, egg carton) cut it to fit her foot. then take some tape (duct tape works pretty well cuz it goes well between the toes). you will need another person to help you. place her foot on top of the cardboard (or whatever) and carefully spread her toes like they should be, then tape them in place with toes separated with tape meeting the hard surface between the toes. make sure the tape is big enough to wrap around the foot and under the hard thingy. they say the sooner after hatch that you do this, the better. i know ur girl is a bit older...but it's worth a try. what can it hurt? but i will say, be very careful as you spread her toes, if it feels like her toes will not go straight, then don't force them. and if nothing works and she just ends up with a bum leg...well i've seen plenty of pics with chickens with special needs and she's got the least of the problems that i've seen some chickens have (very bad crossed beak or blind or deaf etc). i've seen pics and stories of chickens that thrive just fine with one leg. i believe your girl will be fine. good luck with her!!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion, but her foot isn't her problem. It is her leg being straight out, it is almost as if she needs to be "taught" how to bend her leg. I am happy to hear that one legged chickens can thrive. But I do have to ask... What happens to their other leg? Do they drag it as an adult or get it amputated?
 
Well, I do know that birds can adapt to being one legged. Or, if you have a vet that really cares, you could get a prosthetic for her.

If she is completely unable to move her leg, she may have nerve damage.. it could very well be paralyzed.

Can she move her toes?
 

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