Eggos
In the Brooder
Hey guys, I just wanted to do some knowledge sharing.
I just lost my first chick today, she died during a vet performed surgery from heart failure. Some chicks with perosis also have heart problems and there was also the additional risk with her being only 4 weeks old.
She was a runt, about the size of a two week old chick, only starting to grow tail feathers while her siblings had full wings and back feathers coming in. Ate and drank well, just didn't grow much. She had a slipped tendon the day I got her, only realised when we got her home. It may have been for longer, because she was already a week old when we got her. She couldn't straighten her leg and when I straightened it for her and pushed the tendon back, it would just pop out again when the leg bent. But the hock wasn't swollen.
At a week old, she was much too small for surgery so we splinted her leg at a slight bend, and the tendon popped back nicely. Being in and out of a chick chair/sling for three weeks with the bandage changed every few days until at 4 weeks old, quite an unfortunate life she had. Here is the homemade bandage from lots of research: i made a cardboard splint and taped it on, found it made it much easier to put everything on, while my partner held the chick right-side up with legs dangling down. I then wrapped it tightly with a heavy weight crepe bandage. Pics at bottom because I'm on mobile.
I brought her to the vet at 2-3 weeks old because I didn't know the next step, with physical therapy and bandaging what not. The vet said my homemade bandage was done well but the tendon wouldn't stretch with the leg bend and such a slight angle, although the tendon sat nicely there. It's true, when i took the bandage off she could wobblily stand but had a hard time bending the leg... so the vet splinted the leg at a more acute angle:
I didn't really trust the splint but ended up leaving it on because the vet had dealt with perosis in chicks before. Not sure if the tendon was in place but the vet said it would never really go into place, and that it should just be in a favourable position as the leg is at a natural angle, and the scar tissue would make the tendon's position permanent. The vet said it wasn't that bad of a case, and that splinting it for 3-4 weeks would allow it to heal in place, with a new splint every week to allow for growth, then we would talk physical therapy.
But her leg was suddenly getting worse, and swelling up. So we ended up going back to the vet and getting the bandage removed and switching to a soft bandage. But at 4 weeks, the more senior vet said it was the perfect time for surgery. Because they grow so fast, the bone could outgrow the tendon and muscle attachments would be made in the wrong position, as well as scar tissue. So sooner the better. But not too small of a chick so that the tendon can't be sutured in place. It was quite a delicate balance and it was about a 50% chance of a permanent success with risks during the procedure and risk of it popping out after, but I took the chances. But she wasn't meant to live very long it seems.
Hope this can help someone.
Splint as well as you can and as early as possible.
I just lost my first chick today, she died during a vet performed surgery from heart failure. Some chicks with perosis also have heart problems and there was also the additional risk with her being only 4 weeks old.
She was a runt, about the size of a two week old chick, only starting to grow tail feathers while her siblings had full wings and back feathers coming in. Ate and drank well, just didn't grow much. She had a slipped tendon the day I got her, only realised when we got her home. It may have been for longer, because she was already a week old when we got her. She couldn't straighten her leg and when I straightened it for her and pushed the tendon back, it would just pop out again when the leg bent. But the hock wasn't swollen.
At a week old, she was much too small for surgery so we splinted her leg at a slight bend, and the tendon popped back nicely. Being in and out of a chick chair/sling for three weeks with the bandage changed every few days until at 4 weeks old, quite an unfortunate life she had. Here is the homemade bandage from lots of research: i made a cardboard splint and taped it on, found it made it much easier to put everything on, while my partner held the chick right-side up with legs dangling down. I then wrapped it tightly with a heavy weight crepe bandage. Pics at bottom because I'm on mobile.
I brought her to the vet at 2-3 weeks old because I didn't know the next step, with physical therapy and bandaging what not. The vet said my homemade bandage was done well but the tendon wouldn't stretch with the leg bend and such a slight angle, although the tendon sat nicely there. It's true, when i took the bandage off she could wobblily stand but had a hard time bending the leg... so the vet splinted the leg at a more acute angle:
I didn't really trust the splint but ended up leaving it on because the vet had dealt with perosis in chicks before. Not sure if the tendon was in place but the vet said it would never really go into place, and that it should just be in a favourable position as the leg is at a natural angle, and the scar tissue would make the tendon's position permanent. The vet said it wasn't that bad of a case, and that splinting it for 3-4 weeks would allow it to heal in place, with a new splint every week to allow for growth, then we would talk physical therapy.
But her leg was suddenly getting worse, and swelling up. So we ended up going back to the vet and getting the bandage removed and switching to a soft bandage. But at 4 weeks, the more senior vet said it was the perfect time for surgery. Because they grow so fast, the bone could outgrow the tendon and muscle attachments would be made in the wrong position, as well as scar tissue. So sooner the better. But not too small of a chick so that the tendon can't be sutured in place. It was quite a delicate balance and it was about a 50% chance of a permanent success with risks during the procedure and risk of it popping out after, but I took the chances. But she wasn't meant to live very long it seems.
Hope this can help someone.
Splint as well as you can and as early as possible.
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luckily I haven't had to deal with this yet, so thanks for sharing.
