Slipped tendon, splayed leg? Confused!

[BroosterSpringsteen]

This EE chick hatched 2 days ago. It was pipped for more than 48 hours, then surprisingly hatched on day 23. It has curled toes and a leg problem. I thought it was splayed leg, so I made the hobbles, and cardboard shoes for the feet. Within a few hours, the chick was up and about, hobbling all over the bator. But it's only standing on one leg. Could it be a slipped tendon? I can't tell if the joint is swollen. It looks just like the joint on the good leg. But the bad leg won't straighten all the way. He's getting around pretty well, and I'd rather not cull. Advice on how to treat this?

Here's a picture. I temporarily took off his cardboard shoes to make new ones.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

I'd also like to add, I'm going to be pretty annoyed if I went to all this trouble to save a rooster.

 

[fishermans wife]

I am watching your experience as I am going through the same thing now. I think mine has a slipped tendon, but "treating" it for both - Just aligning the joint and wrapping it then securing both legs together seems to be helping it stand, which in turn I hope strengthens the leg muscles. It is a beautiful lavender silkie baby that I so want to "fix"! Good luck and update when you can with the progress!

 

[fishermans wife]

Ok, I managed to get the tendon back into place, and I rewrapped the leg. What did you use to splint your chicken's leg for all that time? How many months did it take

Glad you got it back into place! I read somewhere that someone used the ends of q-tips on either side of the leg to create a "channel" to keep the tendon in place until the bone and tendon grew into the right place. I tried ... but banty silkies are so tiny, the q-tip was the size of his leg! Gave up! May be worth looking in to. Does Neutron put weight on the leg once the tendon is in place? The rubber band (or hair band) thing works well! It is so hard to unwrap tiny legs.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

I think Neutron has improved a lot in the last week. Her leg is permanently twisted, but now she puts weight on it, and waddles around on both legs. She can even jump onto the roost in the brooder. Here is her first trip outdoors. You can see she still wobbly, but better.

 

[kidsbme3]

I'm not sure what it is, but they I cant straighten it out and neither can they. Im affraid I will brake it. The bantam chics are so very tiny.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

If you can't straighten the leg, I think it's a slipped tendon. I've had lots of chicks with splayed leg. The legs straighten out pretty easily, and it's much easier to treat. I know what you mean about feeling like you're going to break it. I felt that way about my chick, and I can't even imagine how tricky it would be with a bantam!

Fishermans wife had better luck treating her chick than I did. And I think a lot of that was because at first I didn't understand where the tendon was, and was too afraid to work it back into place. Now I understand the tendon slides to the inside of the leg. If you feel the top half of the leg, you'll probably feel the tendon running down the inside. You can massage it back into over the knee cap. It's easier to do if you carefully extend the leg back, like a chick does when it's stretching. Then the trick is getting it to stay in place, with some sort of splint or wrapping. I've seen where some folks use straws cut down one side. You have to treat it now. Before long the leg grows too fast, and the tendon won't move back into place anymore. That's what happened to mine. She gets around pretty well, but she'll always have a crippled leg.

Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

So, an update. I managed to straighten the leg by sort of massaging the knee into place, and then secured it with flexible bandage tape. He's standing well, and getting around the brooder just fine. But so far, after lots of reading, I haven't been able to find even one successful case of someone treating a chick with this problem. I would love to hear from anyone with experience in this.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

Hey thanks! So good to hear from someone going through the same thing.

Today I took off the cardboard shoe. The toes are straight now. I also removed the hobbles, but left the bad leg straight and wrapped. The chick puts most weight on one leg, but occasionally shifts to the other. It can't stand on the leg with the splint. It gets around with no problems though. I just can't tell if what I'm doing is helping at all? Will the slipped tendon get better?

How is your chick?

 

[fishermans wife]

She just hatched last night, and I thought it was maybe just trying to get used to walking as I notice some chicks progress faster than others with that. This morning it was definately an issue, so I read a bunch, asked some questions, and someone suggested to check for a slipped tendon. I am a huge "visual" person, and was trying to figure out how to tell? When I straightened the leg however, I could manipulate the knee and feel the tendon go into place. I did what you did for wrapping the joint to keep it straight and hopefully keep the tendon in place, but used a rubber band that I read about on another thread to keep the legs together. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41693/spraddle-leg-splay-leg-treatment-instructions Post #7.

It seems to be working in helping it to stand , and it is figuring out how to get around. My concern is that it will fall into the water dish . I have marbles in it...but not sure it could roll out. I noticed it was sleeping on it's side tonight - probably easier for it.

Here's to our valiant efforts to help our chicks!!