Peachick is throwing leg out to the side any ideas why?

[down2earth]

2 mo old peachick last couple weeks only throwing it's left leg out to the side when it walks. Can jump to perch still and run. Holds it up when standing sometimes. Only thing that I seen it do was jump up onto the wire outside wall and hang there flapping it's wings then flew off. Could it have injured its leg then? It's been weeks and it looks to be getting more pronounced. The leg looks normal to me. Please see video and pics. I'm not sure if the video uploaded but here is the url

 

[KsKingBee]

Ok I'm sorry but I could never do that. I brought it to a vet thinking I had to put it down but the vet wouldn't even consider it . She did an x-ray nothing broken. Put on a wrap to stabilize the "knee". Will wait to see if it can improve over the next couple weeks.
The vet said not to listen to people on the web lol.
Will have put a couple hundred dollars into this chick after next checkup in a week.
It was my favorite and nicest female pied I wanted to keep. Won't be putting anymore into it. Just hope the vet is right when she says it can heal. It's hard to find a vet that specializes in these birds.
Wish me luck.
One last comment. The web sites have helped me at times for support but there are some people on it that should watch how they "deliver" their opinions to people.

Perhaps I do come off as a cold hearted SOB some of the time but I try to help people and part of that is to explain the harsh reality of awful situations.

Here is the thing, no bones are broken, and the tendon has become unattached allowing the leg to splay out from the body. There is nothing there to hold the leg in the correct position and putting a 'wrap' on it will not make the tendon repair itself. It is much the same as rotator cuff surgery. The tendon must be returned to the correct attachment place and reattached. It is not going to do that on its own.

Most vets are very good-intentioned people trying to help animals and their owners but at the same time, they have lots of expenses to cover every month. They are not beyond taking advantage of a person in a dire situation.

I am sorry for what you are going through as we have seen this play out too many times on this forum to not be sad about it.

 

[down2earth]

Deformity. likely will be fatal.

It was only like that for the last few weeks. If it is a deformity wouldn't it have showed before?
Why fatal? Will it get worse?
How can I tell if it's an injury that can be fixed? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[KsKingBee]

What are you feeding your peachick? Feeding to high of a protein can sometimes cause this in peachicks,

Only if kept in a small space, if they have lots of room to run off the excess energy they will not splay from feed.

 

[KsKingBee]

It was only like that for the last few weeks. If it is a deformity wouldn't it have showed before?
Why fatal? Will it get worse?
How can I tell if it's an injury that can be fixed? Sorry for all the questions.

You are correct that it is not a deformity, it is an injury, a ligament has been torn that holds the leg in the correct position and is not repairable and will not heal itself. This is called a blown hock and will only get worse to the point you will have to put it down, The quality of life will be dire in time. Sorry.

 

[down2earth]

What are you feeding your peachick? Feeding to high of a protein can sometimes cause this in peachicks,

Purina start n grow medicated chick feed.

 

[down2earth]

Birds are quite good at hiding pain so we don't really know how much it hurts.

When you decide it is time you can put it to sleep with ether, (starting fluid in a can). Soak a paper towel and cover the birds face until it becomes calm or asleep, then put both the towel and the birds head in a baggie. It will only take a few minutes until you see a body tremble which is its last gasp.

It is never easy for us to do but it is the least painful for both us and the bird.

Ok I'm sorry but I could never do that. I brought it to a vet thinking I had to put it down but the vet wouldn't even consider it . She did an x-ray nothing broken. Put on a wrap to stabilize the "knee". Will wait to see if it can improve over the next couple weeks.
The vet said not to listen to people on the web lol.
Will have put a couple hundred dollars into this chick after next checkup in a week.
It was my favorite and nicest female pied I wanted to keep. Won't be putting anymore into it. Just hope the vet is right when she says it can heal. It's hard to find a vet that specializes in these birds.
Wish me luck.
One last comment. The web sites have helped me at times for support but there are some people on it that should watch how they "deliver" their opinions to people.

 

[down2earth]

Perhaps I do come off as a cold hearted SOB some of the time but I try to help people and part of that is to explain the harsh reality of awful situations.

Here is the thing, no bones are broken, and the tendon has become unattached allowing the leg to splay out from the body. There is nothing there to hold the leg in the correct position and putting a 'wrap' on it will not make the tendon repair itself. It is much the same as rotator cuff surgery. The tendon must be returned to the correct attachment place and reattached. It is not going to do that on its own.

Most vets are very good-intentioned people trying to help animals and their owners but at the same time, they have lots of expenses to cover every month. They are not beyond taking advantage of a person in a dire situation.

I am sorry for what you are going through as we have seen this play out too many times on this forum to not be sad about it.

Wanted to add... I am getting rotator cuff surgery this fall. I have the same problem. So I definitely understand the problem

 

[down2earth]

What typically happens is that once the ligament is torn it just keeps getting worse to the point that the bird is grounded and just flutters about soon to be overcome with parasites and infection. That is why I said that at some point the quality of life will dictate that you take action.

You will find as you continue to keep and raise these birds that they will find a hundred different ways to maim and kill themselves. That is the reason for having a well-prepared medical cabinet. Many you will be able to save and some you won't even get a chance to even try to help. Death is a part of living and sometimes is the better option depending on the cards they are dealt.

With your bird, you are at the point of waiting and watching to see how it progresses. Perhaps something miraculous may happen, we just don't know when we might get lucky beyond all hope.

Oh, and thanks for the clarification. Good luck with your operation, I had my shoulder fixed in '09, it was as bad as they get. The worst part is the first visit to the PT. She gently took my arm and made a quick movement that made me pass out from the pain. My then-to-be future wife lost it and made quite the scene. We never saw that particular therapist again.

OMG Mine is bad also. Almost detached.
I never have seen a pt by choice for other problems always did it at home. But I've been told you can't do this at home.
I guess me and my bird will hold out together and hope for the best.
Thankyou for sharing.

 

[Midnightman14]

Deformity. likely will be fatal.