Spraddle Leg - Splay Leg Treatment Instructions

[milkweedz]

Helllo............I am wondering if everyone that is expereicning spraddle leg is hearing their baby chick tweet......like they are crying.

I feel awfull...is this normal? I have her in a nice comfy bandaid brace..she is about 12 days old.......but much of the time she is tweeting and eyes closed...does this go on for a long time...its been about 8 days that she is has been in a brace...and still going on...


jean

 

[PoultryPedia]

Spraddle Leg treatment generally needs to be started within the first 3 days of a chick's life & maintained consistently until recovery (usually about 3-5 days) in order to be successful. It might be that unfortunately your chick's problem had progressed too far to be curable.
You can check to see whether your chick may also have a slipped tendon in its hock joint (There is info on the Poultry Podiatry page on the site in my sig below) which has prevented a brace from being effective enough. If a tendon has been out of place for a week in a very young chick, I think it is unlikely that it can be corrected, though I do not have enough info to be positive. You might possibly try treatment if it doesn't seem too painful, & if it seems treatment might work.
Closed eyes & peeping would usually indicate pain. It is so very hard to figure possibly right treatments & do them in effective timing! Try not condemn yourself times you may not be able to do everything.
It sounds like your little one is struggling. I'm so sorry. It's hard. You might reach a point where you'll need to help her be free of the struggle if she is not making progress. Hugs to you for your journey with her.

 

[lovechix2011]

I have an 11 day old chick who seemed ok at first but last two days she has been laying with her legs out to her sides like a splayed leg chick would.. she hobbles to food and water but doesn't walk otherwise.. she just lays around. Should I try the bandaid?

 

[PoultryPedia]

Check to see if she may have a slipped tendon in one or both hocks.

I think a hobbles wouldn't be effective because it's to train the chick on correct movement patterns, but she already has learned them. It sounds like now she is just unable to execute them, for some reason.

You might do some checking into Marek's disease but I don't know how likely it would be at her age. I had thought a chick wouldn't show symptoms of that younger than 3 weeks, but I'm not really sure.

Maybe she needs something nutritionally? What has her diet been thus far? There is some info on nutrients that may be helpful on the Poultry Podiatry page on my site.

It's good you're looking for solutions for her promptly while she's growing so fast. Wishing the best for you & your little chick!

 

[denisarae]

Can an older chick/pullet develop spraddle leg? She's about 8 weeks old. She has one leg that almost seizes back straight behind her.

 

[beverlychickenb]

Wow I had no idea when I googled turkey with broken leg dragging what I was gonna find thanks soo much I am very happy to have found this about spraddle leg I just hope it is not too late for my baby turkey he was being stamped on and mistreated with the others and seemed not able to eat the others pushed him aside I brought him in by himself he is a about 3 months old I am going to ty to band his legs and pray for him too..............Any other 411 will be good too!

 

[PoultryPedia]

Here's the counsel I give people about older birds, though perhaps someone else has had some experiences that would provide different guidance

• You SHOULD NOT try to correct long-time twisted legs or severely twisted feet in ADULT BIRDS. (Although, kinks in toes can sometimes be gradually corrected if the foot hasn't become too twisted.) Adults' bones have finished developing & hardened--it would be unsuccessful & very painful to try making any significant changes. Changes would also throw off balance, and adults are extremely likely to persist in trying to walk in habitual distorted way which will re-create and worsen the deformities.

Birds develop true Splayed Leg within 1-3 days of hatching. A Slipped Achilles Tendon can cause a similar looking leg rotation at any age.

Marek's Disease is often the cause of one or both legs becoming progressively unable to move correctly. It is common for a bird with Marek's to have one leg bent forward in front and the other leg sticking out behind the bird. Marek's symptoms don't show up until a bird is at least 3 weeks old. If you have a bird with Marek's, be very careful--Marek's is highly contagious!

 

[denisarae]

Thank you SpeckledHills for such a detailed answer, it is truly appreciated. I apologize for the tardiness of my reply, I didn't see your answer until now. I think you are right and it is not splayed legs.

 

[Tyaloria]

In the time since this thread was posted I've discovered my own little technique that I think works MUCH better for treating spraddle/splay leg. I've had to treat many little chicks and the bandaid method doesn't allow them to be able to walk around and learn to use their legs, especially the "bad" leg. I felt so bad for them watching them fall over and not be able to get to food and water.

What I now do, with 100% success, is to use a very thin rubber band (the very thinnest kind). I cut it so I have a long stretchy string. Then tie one end around one ankle and leave a long piece/end sticking out. Then tie the other ankle with a loose knot leaving about an inch between legs so that the feet stay under the body. After I tie a loose knot around the second ankle I then tie that end of the "string" to the tied off other end of the string. So under the body the string is tied to istelf. That way as the chick runs and walks around they don't manage to pull the rubber band knots too tight on their ankles. If you don't tie the ends of the string to the other end, the chick will walk and it will pull the rubber band and possibly tighten the knots around the ankle.

With this method the chick can learn to walk. It gives them mobility but keeps their feet under their body. After about a day, they will be running and walking with it like all the rest. I check the knots often just to be sure they don't pull tight on their ankles and leave it on for about a week.

Works every time.

I like this idea.
Band aids aren't working. I thought of elastics to start with but my husband said 'you cant do that, you will cut off the blood supply!'

I'm glad someone agrees with my idea, thanks!

 

[klwalker]

Hello, My names Kacie. do you think this method will work if the chicken has been walking fine for 10 days and now has one splayed leg. Or could it be a form of paralaysis??
I'm in Australia with two chickens that have trouble with their right leg.