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- #11
- Apr 21, 2013
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CletikKatt and cktomczik, I hesitate to give too much advice... this was our first experience and we were over our heads - it is all a bit of a blur now. We mostly followed the advice of D C T from this site: http://www.voy.com/194762/. He (or she?) is also the one that suggested that it was "twisted tibia" and not splayed leg. And of course, we read through the various threads here.
We eventually ended up taping the legs close together (so that they were only about 1/8 on an inch apart from each other). We put a small bit of foam between the legs for comfort. We kept the splint on for about 10-12 hours a day and then took it off for the rest of the time (she could walk at this point, just not very well and still with her feet out). Since the chick could not walk or stand at all with the splint, we set up a hammock/sling (see the picture above). We normally put the splint on and put her in the sling around 6pm and basically took shifts making sure she did not wiggle her way into a bad position. Then we let her out of the sling and took off the splint around 6am. This a slightly modified version of what D C T recommended.
Each day, her legs got a little closer together and she began walking a bit better. When she was getting around okay during her time without the splint we put her with 2 other small (and mellow) chicks so she could have some friends and hopefully begin copying their actions (stretching, cleaning, etc). The chick is now able to stand and walk well. She still has difficulty keeping her balance at times and is definitely not as agile as the others - but she has a good quality of life and gets around fine.
My best advice would be to try and get some good pictures/video of the legs and get in touch with D C T - maybe start a thread here as well.
CletickKatt, from the mix of information that I read through, 5 weeks is fairly old to get quick results. It may require more time in the hobble/splint. If the chick is getting around well with the hobble/splint and the water dishes are filled with marbles, etc to prevent drowning - then my hunch would be to just keep at it. Again though, I am no expert and really am just thinking of what I might try.
cktomczik,
2 days is still young, so your chances are pretty good to fix it if it is splayed leg or twisted tibia (based on what I read). I would take some photos as soon as possible to try and get some help determining what the issue might be. I really don't know the difference between splayed leg and twisted tibia. My assumption is that with splayed leg the feet and the leg joints are spread apart (spread eagle): while with twisted tibia, the feet are apart and the leg joints are together (duck footed). Just my assumption. In terms of culling, that is a tough call. There is no way of knowing what is best. My stance is to just do the best you can to make a decision one way or the other and then live with it. That is the best we can do. I will say that though we helped our chick and she gets around fine, she is not the same as the others. She may very well have problems later in life with her legs - or maybe not - hard to tell. It will no doubt take some effort - and you may loose some sleep. There were a few times (when she was just sitting in the sling with her legs taped together) that we wondered if it might be better to cull. Not an easy decision, especially for a softy like me. Again though, 2 days is pretty young still and I know some people have left the hobble/splint on for over a week.
I realize that probably doesn't help all that much. I wish I could help more.
We eventually ended up taping the legs close together (so that they were only about 1/8 on an inch apart from each other). We put a small bit of foam between the legs for comfort. We kept the splint on for about 10-12 hours a day and then took it off for the rest of the time (she could walk at this point, just not very well and still with her feet out). Since the chick could not walk or stand at all with the splint, we set up a hammock/sling (see the picture above). We normally put the splint on and put her in the sling around 6pm and basically took shifts making sure she did not wiggle her way into a bad position. Then we let her out of the sling and took off the splint around 6am. This a slightly modified version of what D C T recommended.
Each day, her legs got a little closer together and she began walking a bit better. When she was getting around okay during her time without the splint we put her with 2 other small (and mellow) chicks so she could have some friends and hopefully begin copying their actions (stretching, cleaning, etc). The chick is now able to stand and walk well. She still has difficulty keeping her balance at times and is definitely not as agile as the others - but she has a good quality of life and gets around fine.
My best advice would be to try and get some good pictures/video of the legs and get in touch with D C T - maybe start a thread here as well.
CletickKatt, from the mix of information that I read through, 5 weeks is fairly old to get quick results. It may require more time in the hobble/splint. If the chick is getting around well with the hobble/splint and the water dishes are filled with marbles, etc to prevent drowning - then my hunch would be to just keep at it. Again though, I am no expert and really am just thinking of what I might try.
cktomczik,
2 days is still young, so your chances are pretty good to fix it if it is splayed leg or twisted tibia (based on what I read). I would take some photos as soon as possible to try and get some help determining what the issue might be. I really don't know the difference between splayed leg and twisted tibia. My assumption is that with splayed leg the feet and the leg joints are spread apart (spread eagle): while with twisted tibia, the feet are apart and the leg joints are together (duck footed). Just my assumption. In terms of culling, that is a tough call. There is no way of knowing what is best. My stance is to just do the best you can to make a decision one way or the other and then live with it. That is the best we can do. I will say that though we helped our chick and she gets around fine, she is not the same as the others. She may very well have problems later in life with her legs - or maybe not - hard to tell. It will no doubt take some effort - and you may loose some sleep. There were a few times (when she was just sitting in the sling with her legs taped together) that we wondered if it might be better to cull. Not an easy decision, especially for a softy like me. Again though, 2 days is pretty young still and I know some people have left the hobble/splint on for over a week.
I realize that probably doesn't help all that much. I wish I could help more.