Help! Why can't this chick walk anymore?

[dianneS]

Well, her progress plateaued. She's not progressed beyond just "trying to walk". She's got hobbles on to keep her legs straight and now she's learned that she can just lean to one side and sit on one hock rather than sitting on both at the same time. When I take the hobbles off, we're right back to square one. When I take her out of the chick chair, she's able to walk a little better until she gets fatigued and then we're back to sitting on our hocks again.

 

[Casey76]

How do her legs look in comparison to a "normal" chick?

Are they both equal in length and "straightness" Are the hocks enlarged or inflamed? Are they warmer than a "normal" chicks?

I can only think of skeletal abnormalities (body to heavy for bones) if it suddenly occurs at two weeks. It is very common in broilers, but it can also happen in other breeds for no specific reason.

 

[dianneS]

Hmmmmm... her legs do splay out to the sides a bit, but not nearly as much as a full-fledged case of splay leg or spraddle leg. Everything else seems normal as far as I can tell. I've noticed that her feet are starting to get a bit funky now and she's getting a bit duck-footed. I moved her legs closer together and re-hobbled them as well as making her some shoes to straighten out those toes. I'm waiting to see what that will do...

 

[dianneS]

I had her hobbles on all day today and her shoes. When I got home her butt was all poopy from sitting on her hocks in the same spot all day. Should she be trying to walk at all? Or should I just leave the hobbles and shoes on for several days and when I take them off she'll be able to walk? She doesn't seem to be trying to walk at all as long as she's got all of these contraptions on.

 

[dianneS]

Okay, I compared her legs to the other chicks and along with them being slightly splayed out to the sides, they are much thinner than her siblings. Her legs are thin and her feet are small in comparison to a chick that is even smaller than she is. I'm beginning to think this is a deformity and may not be curable? I'm not sure what to do next? How long do I continue to try before giving up?

 

[SilkieChickenLover336]

That is kind of bad. Is she plump? If she is a little heavier then other chickens try to cut back on a little food because maybe she isnt suppost to be that big!

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

A pic would help.

 

[dianneS]

I wish I had batteries in my camera. I try getting a pic with my phone and see if I can figure out how to upload it.

She's not particularly fat. When she was in with the other chicks she wasn't eating as much since she couldn't get around so well. The other chicks are actually starting to outgrow her now.

I took her hobbles off for a day or two to see if having more mobility would help the issue to correct itself. It didn't. It got worse. She's getting poopy all caked on her underside below her vent from her sitting back on her hocks all the time. I constantly have to clean her up. I put her hobbles back on for now so things wouldn't get worse, but this is really getting old and exhausting.

 

[SilkieChickenLover336]

i think it is time to put her down.........OR....................take her to the vet and see what theey say but they will probably say the same thing

 

[dianneS]

My husband thinks its time to put her down too. Its hard since I've been working with her for so long. He said he'd do it, but I wish there was a less violent method. What's the best way to dispatch a chick in a humane and non-violent manner? I would at least feel a little better if we could sedate her with ether and then do the cervical dislocation. Has anyone ever done this?