Day old chick cannot walk, falls on side

[kuchchicks]

I just had a hatch complete today. I am very pleased with the result - 16/17 hatched. All looked very healthy upon hatching but I now have a 12 hour old chick that cannot walk. He is able to kind of stand very briefly and then when he tries to walk ends up rolling over on one side or the other. If he is up against a wall he walks with this back on the wall, kind of on his side. Both legs are going in the same direction. I did try to put him in a cup to force him to kind of exercise his legs but he did not like being separated. His legs are strong enough that he can push himself up and out of the cup to get back with the other chicks. Our feed store is closed for the night so I got some Pedialyte from CVS and was able to get him to drink a little. He has not eaten yet. Right now sleeping under the heat lamp. Any ideas as to what is wrong or what I can do? Is there any hope?!!!

 

[kuchchicks]

Quote:
Absolutely. I actually did quite a bit of research on determining what the problem was. The symptoms that my chick had were a flat hock, unable to extend the leg, unable to stand on the leg, walking on the knee, and swelling to the knee. The day the chick hatched I did not notice any problems as he was sleeping a lot just like all of the other chicks. He was getting himself to the food and water dish just fine. The day after he hatched is when I noticed the symptoms. He did not appear to be in any pain. I was able to move the leg, palpate the leg and the joint and he did not seem to mind. When I straightened the leg behind him (like when you see them stand and stretch their legs) the joint seemed to look more normal, however there was still a decent amount of swelling. At this point I was certain that the chick had a slipped tendon. (I have a video of the chick trying to walk but I cannot upload it. If anyone wants it sent to them please text message me and I will send it to you.) From what I read I knew that this was a disability that needed to be fixed sooner rather than later. The longer they sit untreated the less likely they are to be corrected. My fear was him walking on the hock, getting open sores that became infected, and developing sepsis. (Which by the way I did find someone who made a foam boot that was velcroed to the leg to protect the hock. It did need to be washed and the hock washed and dried regularly but the chicken was a thriving adult. This is something else that could be considered if you are okay with having a special needs bird.) To correct the leg I went and got vet wrap. Vet wrap is ideal because it sticks to itself, but not to the chick. I tried to get 1" vet wrap but the smallest I could find was 2". I ended up cutting it down to approximately 3/4". I then wrapped the chick in a towel (covering his head) to keep him calm and still. If your chick is upset or scared you may want another person to help hold the bird still. I placed the bird on his belly and gently pulled the leg backward into that same position I described earlier where it looks like they are stretching their legs. Next I gently adjusted the tendon back over the knee and then wrapped it with the vet wrap. I wrapped the leg so the joint was snug but not so tight that circulation was cut off. I made sure that the chick could not bend the knee but when I touched to toes the chick still responded. Chicks at this age grow VERY quickly so it it important to recheck the toes OFTEN to make sure that circulation is still intact (look for discoloration - blueness or a darkening of the tissue that does not match the other foot, cool or cold toes, toes that start to curl into a fist, chick does not respond when touching the foot - all of these are signs that circulation is being cut off) If circulation is being cut off then the wrap is too tight and needs to be redone. After I wrapped the leg, I made a "sling chair" with vet wrap and a rubbermaid container (there are pictures earlier in this post, again if you want pics sent directly to you message me). Now the chick DID NOT like the sling chair, but I strapped him in and secured him with vet wrap. His feet were dangling and I did not allow them to touch the ground. It is important that the chick not bare weight on the bad leg until it heals. I was aware that the pressure points that the chick was now laying on could cause bedsores. With that said I took him out of the chair every time I feed him to rub his belly and stretch his other leg. I also spent a lot of time holding this chick. He seemed much more calm and relaxed while I was holding him than when he was in the chair. But I do have 4 kids and 2 jobs so that was not always a possibility. I also found that when he was stressing out, if I put him in a dark quiet place he would generally go to sleep. Also keep in mind that since this chick cannot move you must be very aware of how hot the chick is getting under the brooder light. He is not able to move to go cool off if he is getting too hot. You don't want to save the chick's leg only to lose your chick to heat exhaustion! I was offering food and water every 2 hours. You could tape small food containers to the sling chair if needed just be sure to take the chick out regularly to readjust his position and stretch. I was giving the chick Poli-Vi-Sol 1 drop 3 times a day and Pedialite. I was not sure if the chick was getting enough nutrition and also found that the slipped tendon could be a vitamin deficiency issue. I also fed the chick NONmedicated food (I normally feed my new chicks medicated feed but did not want it to interfere with the vitamin absorption). About 31 hours after I placed to leg wrap I had noticed that the chick's toes were darker than the other foot. The chick did still move the toes a little but they also felt slightly cooler (all signs that the circulation was being affected... with the chick growing so fast the wrap had become tight very quickly). I started to unwrap the leg to readjust the wrap - my chick was not thrilled that I was messing with his leg again. If this happens to you make sure that you wrap your chick in a towel to cover the head and/or get help. Vet wrap does stick to itself very well and you don't want to pull too hard and hurt the hip or knee joints. Once I unwrapped the chick's leg, the chick hopped up and tried to stand. Now because it had been wrapped straight for quite a while, when he stood the leg was straight - but at least he was off his hock. I left him there for a few minutes and he was slowly starting to flex the joint and in the right direction. The chick was VERY WOBBLY and I did attempt to get him back in the sling chair without the wrap but he was not having it. I did place him back in a dark room and he ended up going to sleep. I continued to monitor him every few hours to make sure the tendon did not slip back out. Within 2 days he was completely stable on his leg and walking normally. I also continued with the Poli and Pedialite for another week. The biggest lesson I learned here is to act promptly, give vitamins, and be patient. This was a success story and I believe that this chick will go on to lead a very full life. However I have also read lots of other stories where the tendon could not be fixed and the chick/chicken was put down. Others that could not be fixed applied the foam boot to the chicken's leg. Had I not been able to fix the tendon I believe this is what I would have done. I think each case is different and you need to go with your gut. The disability can be caused by vitamin deficiency, injury, and/or genetics. While I will keep this chick, I do not plan on having him being part of my breeding stock. Because I cannot be sure why the chick had this issue I do not want to take the chance of passing it to the next generation. I hope this helps someone out there. I hope I covered everything. I did keep a log while treating this chick (as I do with all of my hatches) so if I missed something or did not answer a question you have please feel free to message me. Also if you need an immediate answer feel free to text me 330-414-6906.

 

[kuchchicks]

One thing I did did is that it is suggested to wrap the tendon in whichever position gets it back in the correct alignment. So I would assume that means if you are able to get it into position slightly bent then I would wrap it that way. It's definitely a learning experience. And like the saying goes "you do the best you can with the information you have at the time. And when you know better, you do better"!

 

[WVduckchick]

I going to tag some other that may be able to help.

I will also text you for the video.

@Amiga
@casportpony
@caesargirl

 

[WVduckchick]

Trying to think of more chicken hatchers that might have insight... My brain isn't working tonite.

@FridayYet
@RavynFallen
@rossfam06
@lazy gardener
@AmyLynn2374
@WalnutHill
@gachooks
@ronott1

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks! Is that something that they should have at feed store?

They should carry it at the feed store. If they don't have Poultry ND, you can use the formulation for sheep or goats.

Thank you for that.

I just found my little black chick dead. I am so sad.

My little yellow chick was freaking out in the cup and I was afraid he was going to get stepped in the brooder by the other chicks. I moved him back into the Bator. I hope I made the right decision.

It's ironic that this was my highest hatch rate to date and the one I've had the most problems with after the hatch. Asking for help from St. Francis.

Sorry you're having a hard time. Some chicks, unfortunately fail to thrive, and no matter what you do, they don't make it.

Could this be crazy chick disease? Anyone ever deal with it? Any success?

Not likely. I've dealt with it. Poultry ND brought the chick back from being hypothermic and comatose to me not being able to tell him from his flock mates a week later. However, he had lingering systemic issues, and was culled with congestive heart failure around 20 weeks.

This chick has not had any vitamin supplements at all. The only one that did were the other two checks that previously were having problems. Should I give Poly-Vi-Sol instead of electrolyte water? And if I do how much do I give?

If you use Poly-Vi-Sol, be sure it DOES NOT have iron in it. I'd suggest a drop.

 

[lazy gardener]

The brain is incredibly plastic, especially in a young one. Which means that in the face of brain injury, it is capable of developing new pathways to make up for lost function. But, often with a chick that is so compromised at hatch, it will not thrive as an adult. The difference between doing intensive rehab, which you are doing, and culling immediately, which some other hatchers would choose to do, is... I'm sure you know, the difference between the poultry keepers attitude towards their flock. Are they pets, or are they farm animals? I'm delighted that your black chick is making wonderful progress. I'd not be surprised if that one goes on to become a productive flock member. The yellow one... only time will tell. You're doing a great job. Does she hold her head up well? Does she crook her neck habitually in a particular direction? As I recall, you said she repeatedly falls to the right? If you can get her to participate, you might try blocking her from moving forward, get her to stand, and gently push against her shoulder/mid section from the right. When she is able to stay upright as you remove your finger, you can progress to providing a gentle push from the left side to encourage her to shift more weight over to the right leg. Of course, you have to have a compliant chick to do this maneuver! Your pushes should be very brief, less than a second each, and very gentle... only enough to provide the mildest movement fluctuation. See if she will tolerate up to 3 repetitions at a time before increasing, and only progress to the resistance from the left when she is able to stand fairly well without support. These maneuvers may be too difficult for her. In that case, you would back up and try providing the stimulation at her head, working on strengthening her neck muscles. In human development, head control comes before trunk control. So, you might want to try providing gentle neck therapy. Use her natural chicken behaviors. Can you cup her in your hand, and get her to focus on a particular object. Then move her body with the goal of having her stay focused on that object. ie: her head will not move but you are moving her body up/down, left/right. You'll want to pay particular attention to getting her to flex her neck to the right. Give her plenty of visual stimulation. LOTS of things to peck at. Perhaps hang some colorful beads at different heights in the brooder. Put squiggles and dots on the walls of the brooder with a sharpie.

If you choose to cull, IMO, decapitation would be less traumatic for the chick in the long run than the CO2. Perhaps more difficult for you, but less lengthy stress for the chick.

 

[casportpony]

They are eating no medicated crumbles. They are eating very well at this point. I have actually seen even more improvement with both. The black chick walks and acts exactly like the healthy chicks do. If I did not have the yellow chick I would put him in the others. But the yellow chick cries whenever the black one is gone. The yellow chick is standing a little better. He will stand unassisted for 5-10 seconds. He can get up off the ground though he still walks against the wall. I'm going to continue with what I'm doing at this point and just let it play out. But am considering selenium because everyone is talking about it. I believe it's to aid in absorption correct?

Google "avian medicine selenium ". With horses I think e and selenium are given together.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Thanks! I'll do it.

Excellent!

-Kathy

 

[lazy gardener]

I'd suggest that you get some Poultry Nutri-Drench. You can put a drop to the side of his beak, and he should draw it in and swallow it. You can give it full strength several times/day. If he doesn't come around in 2 - 3 days, you may need to cull him. congrats on the good hatch.