Help! Chick Cannot Stand Up

I have one baby chick that has hatched, though I am not sure what breed of chicken it is (feathers are yellow). It has been almost 12 hours since it has been completely out of its shell, but I have noticed that it has spent a lot of time laying down. Every once in a while it will try to walk/stand up but all it really does is flop around. I can see that every time it tries to stand, the right leg seems to stand up straight. The problem (so I think) is in the left leg. When it tries to stand, the left leg stays bent and also stays close to the body, as if the chick cannot make it's leg straight. Instead it tries to hop around on the knee joint, which doesn't get him very far. It has been like this since it hatched. I have given it some water and it seemed to have drank it, but the problem is that the little chick has trouble moving around on its own. Have you seen this condition before? Any tips or solutions to this problem? Any help is greatly appreciated, as I do not want to see this little chick struggle! Thanks!


Here is a picture of the chick's leg.

Hi just posted about mine having the same problem
I splinted its leg to try straighten the knee joint with a eye make up remover pad and micropore tape



Also taped his toes straight but changed the tape daily and massage toes and legs

Get someone to help you check for dislocated hip
Hold the chick and gently pull its leg away from its body while feeling its hip joint to see if its popped out, it should go back in with a gentle stretch of the leg and light pressure on the joint

I also gave him scrambled egg
, electrolyte drink and marmite for vit d


Oh and marmite is doing great now, took about a week for him to walk normally

aw,how he's better soon you have been given some great advice!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Sorry about your bird!

You might also want to post here https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

Hope she heals!

Make sure it isn't a slipped elbow tendon keeping the chick from being able to straighten its leg.
If it is, and isn't *gently* put back into place soon, it will become to inflamed to fix. There's a little groove in the "elbow" of the chick. The tendon runs right up the middle of that normally. If it is slipped out, gently rub it back into place. It should "pop" right back in.
If this isn't the problem, the attempt to make a splint for it. I had a guinea hatch with a splayed leg. it stuck straight out to the side, so it couldn't put it back under itself to walk. I fixed this simply with a band aide cut in half. The cloth part of the band aid sits in the middle of the legs, the sticky ends wrapped around, one for each leg. Adjust it to however looks to be a proper stance for the chick. I left the same bad aide on until it fell off days later. By then, the guinea could walk normally.
Good luck, & if you need any help, feel free to message me.

Thanks for all the advice. I examined his leg a little closer and it seems to me that the problem lies with his knee joint. It looks pretty swollen and red. It could still be a dislocated hip but I am really not sure what to do. I have massaged it and gently stretched his legs. Thanks to anyone who can help

Farmfam70 said:

Thanks for all the advice. I examined his leg a little closer and it seems to me that the problem lies with his knee joint. It looks pretty swollen and red. It could still be a dislocated hip but I am really not sure what to do. I have massaged it and gently stretched his legs. Thanks to anyone who can help

Click to expand...

hello,so sorry for your chick,above Mountain Peeps posted the link for emergency's,just click on it and ask for help,good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If it's a slipped tendon you need to address it ASAP or it will be too late... You can feel the tendon and you can feel the groove if you examine the 'elbow/backwards knee' aka hock joint... Google up on resetting it... And then check back every 30 minutes to an hour or so and make sure it didn't pop back out... I had to do this with one of my peas this year, it popped out multiple times before it finally stayed in place... Make sure to wrap the hock after you pop it back in place, I warped mine at the 45-60° or so angle it is when they stand, he had to sleep with it out to the side at this angle but he was able to limp around...

I made this graphic from some found images on the net (modified to show slip) to explain it to someone...

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. You've been given some good advice and links by the other members so I'll just say, please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. I hope your chick recovers. Good luck.

Hope your chick will improve shortly.