How do you keep a chick that keeps flopping over upright?

[nab58]

I have a 3 day old chick that keeps flopping on his back and is unable to right himself. He is otherwise able to move around and eat/drink. He does not have any visible leg deformities.

Because he's able to feed himself, I don't wants immobilize him. I'm not home during the day to help upright him when he flops.

Any suggestion on building a mini "walker" for a chick?

 

[GitaBooks]

It sounds like a neurological condition. We had a chick that had a neurological condition that made him fall over as well, but his I think was due to a head injury, as his got worse with0in just a few hours and we had to put him down.

Make sure the chick gets lots of vitamins and minerals to help it build up its strength.

I'm not sure how to build a walker for it. But that does sound like a good idea.
I hope she gets better soon. Best of luck!

 

[nab58]

Thank you for responding.

We are giving him chick saver and ultra chick kibble.

He seems to keep picking at himself under his wing or on the top of his leg. When he does that, it makes him off balance and he flops over. He's not even trying to get up anymore, he just lays ther and closes his eyes. It's to the point where we have to watch him constantly to put him upright when he falls over.

He's still eating and drinking.

 

[IceAngel]

I had a Turkey chick that seemed to have a curved spine that put him off balance. I tried many things. One of my best ideas was using very light plastic from the commercial water bottles. I made it some airplane wings and bent them down on the ends. They were very light and I glued them to his back. It really stabilized him. Wish I had taken a picture.

 

[nab58]

Did your turkey chick survive?

I've been trying to fashion different devices from rubber bands, straws, tin foil, bread ties, etc. everything I attach doesn't stay on and just makes him trip and fall over.

 

[IceAngel]

It did survive for about two months. I was hoping the curved spine would fix itself because their bones seem to be so malleable when they first hatch but it never did. Spines are just a masterful structure. They are designed to bear a lot of weight and if they are out of line it can screw up the rest of their skeleton. After two months, all of a sudden this little guy had one of his legs pointing backwards. It seems to be dislocated at the hip. I am not sure how it happened but because he was smaller than the rest, maybe they all piled on him and in his effort to get free this happened. I tried to fold his leg under him but it wouldn't stay that way and I just couldn't see him dragging himself around to food and water so I put him to sleep. I knew his body could never support his weight as he got bigger so we did the merciful thing.

 

[GitaBooks]

It did survive for about two months. I was hoping the curved spine would fix itself because their bones seem to be so malleable when they first hatch but it never did. Spines are just a masterful structure. They are designed to bear a lot of weight and if they are out of line it can screw up the rest of their skeleton. After two months, all of a sudden this little guy had one of his legs pointing backwards. It seems to be dislocated at the hip. I am not sure how it happened but because he was smaller than the rest, maybe they all piled on him and in his effort to get free this happened. I tried to fold his leg under him but it wouldn't stay that way and I just couldn't see him dragging himself around to food and water so I put him to sleep. I knew his body could never support his weight as he got bigger so we did the merciful thing.

I'm so sorry to hear that.