- May 14, 2018
- 35
- 14
- 79
Hi everybody,
I have a tiny little 5 week old chick who has some strange symptoms.
About five days ago, I put the whole chick flock on paper because I was concerned about a different baby having coccidiosis and wanted to check for bloody stools. They were on paper for just a few days. I did not see anything to confirm a coccidiosis infestation, however, after two or three days, my smallest chick began to show a risk of spraddle leg (legs slipping out to the sides or too far forward).
I switched all of the chicks back to hemp bedding immediately, but the little one has not improved, only gotten worse. I tried putting on spraddle hobbles, and I worry that maybe while doing that I somehow did something wrong because now the chick is not getting up at all. He is lively and moves about by crawling all on his belly/side by pushing the feet backwards like a shrimp, but his mobility is very poor. If I get him upright, he will sit on his hocks, but if he gets stuck on his side, he can't get upright again. And his feet are suddenly curling and limp, as of yesterday evening.
None of it makes any sense. I am not able to tell if perosis is involved. I don't think it could be Mareks because the rest of the flock is fine and the initial onset appeared to be purely a mechanical problem. I have no idea how to help this chick. Dislocated hips ? Perosis ? Vitamin deficiency ? Neurological issue ? I don't know. I'm completely lost !
I have a tiny little 5 week old chick who has some strange symptoms.
About five days ago, I put the whole chick flock on paper because I was concerned about a different baby having coccidiosis and wanted to check for bloody stools. They were on paper for just a few days. I did not see anything to confirm a coccidiosis infestation, however, after two or three days, my smallest chick began to show a risk of spraddle leg (legs slipping out to the sides or too far forward).
I switched all of the chicks back to hemp bedding immediately, but the little one has not improved, only gotten worse. I tried putting on spraddle hobbles, and I worry that maybe while doing that I somehow did something wrong because now the chick is not getting up at all. He is lively and moves about by crawling all on his belly/side by pushing the feet backwards like a shrimp, but his mobility is very poor. If I get him upright, he will sit on his hocks, but if he gets stuck on his side, he can't get upright again. And his feet are suddenly curling and limp, as of yesterday evening.
None of it makes any sense. I am not able to tell if perosis is involved. I don't think it could be Mareks because the rest of the flock is fine and the initial onset appeared to be purely a mechanical problem. I have no idea how to help this chick. Dislocated hips ? Perosis ? Vitamin deficiency ? Neurological issue ? I don't know. I'm completely lost !
