2 week old chick with stunted growth and now spraddle leg

[horsejody]

I think I need moral support more than anything else right now. I have marans chicks in the brooder right now. They are about 2 weeks old. One little pullet has always eaten and drank very well, but she is considerably smaller than the others. She is quieter than the rest too. We have given her extra vitamins. She is feathering up normally but is only half the size of her hatch mates. Midge (short for Midget) has now come down with spraddle leg. We splinted her legs with a bandaid yesterday. She has already learned to walk in her orthopedics and continues to eat well. She is getting polyvisol daily. I had a day old chick with spraddle leg that took 2 days to heal. How long will it take a 2 week old chick? She eats and drinks well and doesn't peep a lot, so I doubt that she is suffering. She just isn't thriving like the others. She does tire more easily and sleep more than the others. Since the development with her legs, I have separated her into a separate brooder with one quiet friend. The rowdier chicks are in a separate brooder on ther side of the room. One little roo is quite active. He runs a lot and rams into the others and over top of anyone in his way. I suspect that he possibly is the cause of Midge's injury. Midge has a normal size head and a tiny body. Even before the spraddle leg her legs seemed to be set further apart than the others but normal in their straightness. Is there a dwarfism gene in chickens? Any suggestion or input would be appreciated. I won't cull her as long as she isn't suffering, nor will I use her for breeding. If she survives her chickhood, she is destined to be one of those special pets.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Yes, there is dwarfism in chickens, but it's super rare and it's more likely that she's just a runt. I hatched a runt last year, and to top it off she ate a highly toxic plant at 2 weeks of age and that only stunted her growth even more. She's getting around just fine, but she was weaker as a chick and grew a lot slower. Your little chick should be just fine, but she'll need some TLC and your protection as she grows. Keep doing what you're doing.

I'd think she'd heal within a week max.

 

[chookchick]

Horsejody, your chick sounds a lot like mine--I posted about her under chick w/ broken wing etc...Mine has also eaten well and been active until recently, but she is much smaller than the others. I wish I had a quiet little friend for her--the rest of them are so rowdy! Best wishes and I will watch your thread.

 

[horsejody]

Midge is doing great. She can walk quite well in her splinted short little legs. I will probably try taking them off tonight or tomorrow to see how she does.

 

[horsejody]

I took Midge's splint off yesterday. The top part of her leg is straight, but she is crooked at her hock. She gets around very well and eats good. We resplinted her legs in the hope that a few more days may straighten the hock a bit. She is quite a bit smaller than her hatch mates.

 

[PQ]

Will you post a picture of the splint, we have one that looked the same leg out like that and could'nt figure out a way to do the bottom to turn the leg back in. She is a house chicken now. She never got any better, I really should cull her but I cant, no pain and she gets around fine but the leg has only got worse. I would like to see a picture for future in case it happens again. Thanks
Your little chicks are have very pretty colors.

 

[horsejody]

I'll try to get a picture tonight. It's just a bandaid taping her legs together with another bandaid in the middle so she can't slip out. I had another chick a while back with spraddle leg with a splint. He had spraddle legs and curled toes. He needed leg and foot braces. His legs turned out perfect. This is what he looked like. He was sleeping in the pic. He was able to walk with his orthopedics on.

 

[tim_TX]

Chickens on the kitchen table? Now thats a new one. My wife would shoot me.

 

[PQ]

So the tape is around the hock? We did above because we thought she would not be able to walk with it lower. Thanks

 

[horsejody]

We taped right below the joint. Midge doesn't have much leg above the joint. It's freakishly short up there compared to the other chicks. That's why I thought she might have some sort of dwarfism. The chick with the bandaids in the pic had normal length legs. Both of his legs just stuck straight out to the sides from the hip down.