Chick won't use one leg.

auntie hattie

Songster
8 Years
Jun 28, 2011
407
1
101
One of my little chicks has a problem with it's leg. It just keeps it tucked up under itself. It won't walk on it. I try to pull it down and it won't come down. I'm not sure what is wrong or what I can do to help.




Any Ideas? I took off the boot I had on it to show you the leg because she has curled toes too.
 
Ok this is hard stuff but I will do what I need to do for this little one. I wanted to send a picture of the joint. It has a red sore on it. Me and my DH did what the instructions said to do but the leg still goes back up. So it looks like I will need to put the straw on but I wanted you to see the sore first. By the way thank you so so much for responding to my post.

 
We can't get the tendon to stay over the joint and we are making the sore bleed. It is so sad all the pain we are putting her through. We get the tendon in place then start to put the straw over it and the tendon moves back. Any idea how to hold the tendon in place? We tired taping it and that didn't work. She is so stressed I'm letting her rest a little while.

I have had to tape 3 other chicks of the 6 chicks I hatched to hold their legs together because they keep wanting to spread out. Could this be something wrong with the breeders flock? These poor little chicks. I have been giving them save a chick electrolyte and vitamin mix. Is there something else I should do?
 
So will this chick be able to live with just the one leg and foot working? I know it is probably a dumb question but I don't know how we can get the tendon to stay in place for it to heal. The swelling and sore is on the opposite side that the tendon is on so when we move the tendon into pace it just slides back down because that side is lower. The sore makes that side higher because of it being swollen.
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I'm sorry I forgot & I didn't get back on here sooner so I could have tried to try to give some help earlier!

I had a chick that got a sore on her hock when she was hatched. She held the leg different to try to keep the sore from chafing on flooring. She may have had a slipped tendon as well, which would have contributed to her problems. She developed increasing deformities. She's the one in the photos on my Podiatry page (other than the photos of duck foot problems).

The sore alone is enough to cause big problems because your chick is likely to mis-program its brain while trying to avoid chafing by holding its leg differently.

I am sorry the Tendon treatment hasn't worked & that it was so painful. Apparently it works in some instances, but maybe your chick's bones have developmental problems, too.

I personally would cull the chick, though you may decide differently.You would spare it the pain it would go through with deformities, bandages chafing more as it got older, etc. Very hard. So very, very sorry!
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I can't thank you enough for your replies. It is such a hard choice to make. I've never had to do this but I know I want to do what is best for the little chick.
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This is where raising chickens gets hard.
 

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