Chick can't walk or stand

[Seabright12]

I have a week-old chick that cannot stand or walk. She was doing fine the first couple of days and then about day 5 I noticed she wasn't moving. She was very weak so I put her in her own box. Now she is eating, drinking, and pooing like normal but she still can't walk and she chirps very loudly when she moves like it hurts.

I've considered spraddle leg but her legs don't splay out like other pictures I've seen. Although sometimes I have found her with her legs slightly away from her body, but she's not doing the splits. Sometimes her toes curl as well. I had paper towels over pine shavings in the brooder so I don't see how it could be spraddle leg. I did put in a small block of wood to keep the chicks from getting to the pine shavings. I found some of them sleeping on it so I took it out. Could she have gotten spraddle leg from sleeping on the wood block?

Or could she have just hurt or sprained her leg somehow? I've tried putting her in a sling and that seems to calm her down. The spraddle leg band aid remedy seems a little intimidating so I don't want to administer it until I'm pretty sure she has it. I don't want to stress her out any more than I have to.

Any thoughts or ideas? Thank you!

 

[Seabright12]

This is how I find her sometimes. Does it look like spraddle leg? Sometimes she does tuck her legs in like normal though. I've also seen someone use a nylon hose sling to help them get on their feet. Any advice? It breaks my heart to see her and I feel like I need to do something quick. Just not sure what.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

The red light makes it a bit difficult to see what's going on there, but it doesn't look splayed out to me either. Looks more like the one legs is kind of jutting off to the side. Maybe an issue in the hip itself?

You might try putting it in a small tea cup to keep that leg under it and somewhat in the correct position. Of course, in the tea cup, your chick wont be able to access food and water, so you'll have to either take it out often so it can get to the feeder and drinker, or offer it a wet food slurry through a syringe.

This may be better placed in the Emergencies section. Best of luck!

 

[Seabright12]

I didn't think about the tea cup and it didn't occur to me to post it in Emergencies. I'll try that. I've also read a vitamin b2 deficiency can cause them to scoot around like that so I've got some vitamins in her water. We'll see if that works. Thanks for your help!

 

[Gavia]

My chick sleeps the same way. All the time. And, also, they all tend to peep loudly as they move around. Check on her: is she peeping, eating, drinking, like normal and does she have clear eyes? To make you feel better, a picture of my chick sleeping the same way:


Best of luck~ keep us informed. Does she have a name?

 

[Seabright12]

Her name is Rosie, and yes that is exactly how she acts. She does eat and drink like normal. I just checked her eyes and they look clear. If they weren't, what would that be an indication of? She has had a little improvement. I bought some Durvet Performance Poultry with riboflavin and since she has been drinking that, she has been able to stand up several times. She's still wobbly and can't stand for long but it's better than she was! Thank you for the concern. Hope your chick gets better too!

 

[Gavia]

Eyes that are crusty are usually an indicator of coxy or this disease I forgot the name of, but the on I forgot is fatal. If she has clear eyes, she will probably survive if you help her walk again. Also, try mashing some hard-boiled egg for her to eat.
And Rosie- what a cute name! I had a huge rooster named Rosie. So sweet. Glad she's feeling better! XD