1 Week Old Chick With Crooked Leg

[f8thnjc]

We have a Polish that came out of its shell with what we thought was a hurt leg. He never uses it. After he dried off, we got a good look at it. It is actually crooked. It turns out to the side. While he was still flexible we tried to tape it so that it stayed straight. It didn't help. After a couple days of low activity, we just took it off. I have tried to pick him up and massage his leg, with no progress. His leg is now very bony and hard. There is very little you can do to twist is straight. Is there anyone who has experienced this? Is there hope for his leg "getting better on its own"? Anything else we can try? He just hops around on one foot and the other one sticks out to the side just enough so that he can't get it on the ground.

 

[f8thnjc]

Anyone?

 

[Snegurochka]

Sorry, I've never had this problem. You said taping didn't work; would making a brace help? I know I've seen lots of tutorials around here for bracing legs and toes. Maybe you could brace it as if it was straddle leg, and tie the two legs together? But if you can't even move it enough to brace it, it might be too late to help him.

 

[AKSanctuary]

I know you posted about this in 2011 but can I ask what happened to your chick with the twisted leg? I am having a really hard time finding any info on this and my 3 week old Hedemora chick has the same thing.
Thank you for your time.

 

[AmyWho]

maybe this thread will help: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/759056/chick-with-twisted-leg

 

[Eggcessive]

Try some PolyVisol baby vitamins 2 drops daily by mouth or put poultry vitamins in the water for all chicks since vitamin deficiency is a big cause of toes and foot problems. Scroll down in the first link to "Slipped Tendon" and there are pictures to compare it to your chick. In the second link scroll down to "Slipped achilles Tendon" for instructions on fixing this. Good luck:
http://www.theeggfarm.com/blog/2011/11/12/the-care-and-handling-of-baby-chicks/
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry