1 week old chantecler chick not acting right, any ideas?

[Karen09]

I have a 1 week old chantecler chick that seemed ok when we left to go to town. We came home in about 1.5 hours later and she was on her back looking like she was broken. I scooped her up and tried to set her upright but she would fall over. I gave her some gatorade with the electrolytes and held her for about 1 hour. She seemed to be doing better. So I gave her more to drink and put food on the floor to eat and she gobbled it. She still cannot stand up and when she "walks" she looks like she can't steer correctly. It is more like she falls from place to place. I have separated her from the rest of the chicks with her own heater, water and food. Any ideas what is wrong and what I should do?

 

[Miss Lydia]

do you think she might have gotten tromped on by the others? that happens some times, keep her good and warm with food and water and she how she isn't better in the morning maybe she just needs a little time to recoup. Please post back if she is better by morning.. also might want to try giving her some baby vits w/o iron just a little dribbled on her beak may help.. or added to her water if she'll drink for ya.

 

[Karen09]

She may have. She is smaller than the other chanteclers. I have 2 that were smaller. The other one seems fine. There are 19 in their brooder and they seem not to be crowded but I am going to move some to a different one just in case. She seems alittle steadier on her feet but still won't stand and doesn't seem stable. I am going to have her by my bed to keep an eye on her. I will let you know if she makes it. I also have a silkie that came with the rest and she/he won't put any weight on her/his right leg. She/he hops around on the other and is eating and drinking. Should I just cull it? It doesn't seem broken - just won't put weight on it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

same thing might have happened to it also, or just rough handling during shipment.. there is a site that will tell you how to help chicks when having leg problems I'll find it and send it to you. https://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/leg-braces please let me know how they are doing and hopefully both will recover.. thats a good idea to separate them into 2 boxes some are probably slower than others this way you can help the slower ones out better.. all the best.

 

[Karen09]

Well she is still alive and seems to be doing somewhat better. Still does not stand. She is eating and drinking and my husband says it is as if she forgets to eat unless you show her the food. I put some antibiotic in her drink to see if that helps along with the gatorade. She doesn't fall on her face as much. We are keeping her in our bedroom where we hear her all night if she has a problem. I will keep you posted.

 

[Miss Lydia]

great news, we'll just keep hoping

and keep us posted.. you can also do some therapy with her. maybe just moving her legs a little bit to help keep the blood flowing..

 

[Karen09]

So when I got home from work on Friday, my husband said that our little chantecler had passed away.

She was ok when I left for work but I guess through the day she slowly got worse and then was gone. when I picked her up that morning, her body still seemed like is was an S shape. My ferret could make that shape and it was ok but I thought then, she is not supposed to be like this so I wasn't surprised that she had passed. The silkie has a real big knee bone and hops around like it is not problem. it is smaller than the others but they don't seem to bother it. I read the information that is in this thread and it may have been a tendon but now it is too late to pull its leg. Should I cull it or just let it be since it doesn't seem to bother it. It eats and drinks and moves all over the brooder. I do not plan on using it for breeding purposes. Just a pet.