2 Day old chick Foot/leg problem

[song of joy]

Is the hock swollen? Compare the hock on the good leg vs. the bad leg. If the hock is swollen, it's most likely a slipped tendon.

 

[stephcraig78]

Yes it is. I tried to flatten out the foot but leave toes mobile but everything I did seemed to make it worse- it would fall to its belly and scoot along. Completely lost what little balance it had. Not very optimistic it will make it. Seems thin compared to others.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Use some bandaid to "flatten" out the feet, put it in a sling to keep it's weight off it's feet. Do as Eggcessive stated, PolyVisol baby vitamins without iron (3 drops daily), therapy for the feet/legs keeping it mobile. If it's splayed, there's brace you can make for that, if it's slipped tendon there's treatment for it too. Check out Poultry Podiatry.com

 

[song of joy]

That's what I was afraid of. If it is a slipped tendon, it's really hard to fix, as it tends to keep slipping out of place due to structural problems with the hock joint. They usually can't straighten the foot to raise themselves up so they crawl along with the hock on the floor. Slipped tendon is caused by a vitamin or mineral deficiency in the breeding flock, so the chick is "born" with it. I've attached some links which will provide further information and explanation.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/220/slipped-tendon-perosis/
https://poultrykeeper.com/skeletal-and-muscular-disorders/slipped-tendon/

Source that describes the condition and potential treatment: https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[stephcraig78]

Thanks for all the help everyone but sadly the little one was dead this morning when we checked. I feel like mom knew it wasn’t right and I saw almost kicking it when she was scratching at the bedding. We have 7 very lively healthy babies now. She knew the last egg was no good and had gotten off of it and she wasn’t tending to the hurt chick either. Funny how nature works. So we took the actual nest box out and piled a bunch of straw in on top of a piece of carpet to cover the slick floor of dog crate. Temps here have been great really but this week is supposed to be a nasty cold snap. Thinking I should keep them in garage out of wind but where they will still start acclimating to the colder temps. Over all I am very pleased with the outcome of her first hatch. I am looking forward to spring when hopefully I can get some turkey eggs from my hens and hatch some poults. First year with a tom finally. Again I want to thank you all for helping with my anxiety and all my begginer questions. I will continue to post updates as we go through their first few weeks.

 

[stephcraig78]

Sorry apparently I can’t count. There are 6 babies. Lol whoops

 

[song of joy]

Thanks for the update. I was wondering how the one chick was doing. It's always sad to see this happen, but the flock is healthier when the strongest chicks survive.

Six chicks is a very nice number for the hen to take care of during the winter. Congratulations on the hatch. It's quite a learning experience . . . not just with the first hatch, but with each of them.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x Thank you for the update. Sorry for the loss, you're right, Nature is amazing. Merry Christmas

 

[Welshies]

On the garage comment, honestly I wouldn't bother. Chicks are very sturdy even without a heat lamp, and mama will keep them tucked under her if it gets cold.
Congrats on your other chicks. It's unfortunate that the other chick is dead, but often it's for the best.