I had a chick have a lot of trouble hatching yesterday. (He was supposed to hatch Saturday.) I helped him out and after a long drawn out process he absorbed his yolk and was able to hatch out. His feet and legs are really soft. Abnormally so. I posted in Emergencies/Diseases a few hours ago, but not many people had ideas. (Though I appreciate every one they had, of course. I just want to present my problem to a wider audience.) He walks on his hocks when he walks at all. His feet are kinda small, and like I said, soft.
I've been giving him electrolytes/vitamins, vitamin E, banana, and softened chick food in a dropper to make sure he gets the nutrition he needs. I'm looking around for vitamin B, because I know that's good for leg problems but haven't found any. I know Banana has selenium in it to help absorb vitamin E, and it has vitamin B in it. I just learned that kefir has vitamin B in it, so I'll give him some of that as well. I think his legs are weak from being underdeveloped because they are so soft. His knees bend easily. He has no sign on tendon problems. His feet are a little curled, but so bad that it should be causing him walking problems. He can lift himself and walk almost normally, but not for long at all. He was even able to step up on my hand and then jump off, but it tired him out. He's only been hatched for mere hours, so I expect him to get tired easily. A couple times today I've taken him/her and hid brother/sister out of the brooder and encouraged him to walk around with his brother/sister. (only 2 hatched, it was a horrible hatch.) His brother chases the ants on the from porch and hops around. He tries to keep up, but it tires him out. I think he can build up strength in his legs between exercise and vitamins. What do you think? Do you have any ideas about diagnosis or treatment, it doesn't matter. I just need to hear other peoples ideas.
I'll post pics in a bit. I just realized I haven't uploaded them yet.
I've been giving him electrolytes/vitamins, vitamin E, banana, and softened chick food in a dropper to make sure he gets the nutrition he needs. I'm looking around for vitamin B, because I know that's good for leg problems but haven't found any. I know Banana has selenium in it to help absorb vitamin E, and it has vitamin B in it. I just learned that kefir has vitamin B in it, so I'll give him some of that as well. I think his legs are weak from being underdeveloped because they are so soft. His knees bend easily. He has no sign on tendon problems. His feet are a little curled, but so bad that it should be causing him walking problems. He can lift himself and walk almost normally, but not for long at all. He was even able to step up on my hand and then jump off, but it tired him out. He's only been hatched for mere hours, so I expect him to get tired easily. A couple times today I've taken him/her and hid brother/sister out of the brooder and encouraged him to walk around with his brother/sister. (only 2 hatched, it was a horrible hatch.) His brother chases the ants on the from porch and hops around. He tries to keep up, but it tires him out. I think he can build up strength in his legs between exercise and vitamins. What do you think? Do you have any ideas about diagnosis or treatment, it doesn't matter. I just need to hear other peoples ideas.
I'll post pics in a bit. I just realized I haven't uploaded them yet.
