3 day old chick "floundering" , walking on hocks etc ... direction?

demerson

In the Brooder
8 Years
Dec 3, 2011
77
3
48
Otego NY
Just had a hatch of BLRW and there was one little guy(gal?) that waited until the 18th - struggled a little in the hatch but seemed to do just fine .... I noticed 2 things upon his hatching .... 1.He was and still is quite small compared to the others and 2.There was what I think an excessive amount of "yolk" left behind which was not attached to the chick(like a teaspoons worth)
I left him in the incubator for probably 24 hours or so until he sort of fluffed up - he had quite a bit of the yolky stuff on him.
That is when I noticed he was on the backs of his legs and laying on his side sort of kicking ... I guess the hocks and still is ,walks around on them .... he drinks and sort of eats .... been giving him hard boiled yolks ... started Poly-vis without iron yesterday as i thought maybe he was a little nutrient deprived as there was alot of yolk left in the shell - yesterday he was peeping away and walking around with the other chicks though on the backs of his legs.
Today I peeked in and he is back on his side kicking a little and doing what looks like scratching his head.
I've tried to research anything to do but I am not too sure what to call it - there was a site that called it FLOUNDERING but I find nothing when looking for that - same site mentions an ortho box but didn't explain it to much.
He can move on his own just on the backs of his legs.
He can lift himself a tiny bit off the back of his legs
There does not appear to be any damage to either leg
Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated -

Oh he is in with 5 other chicks - they don't peck at him or anything like that ....
 
I've heard of people making a "chicken chair/sling" to help him get his legs properly underneath him. I've not done this, so I can't give you any real insight on how to make one or how well it works, but perhaps someone else will chime in.
 
Well right after I typed my question all was quiet in the brooder and the little guy had passed ......
 
I'm sorry to hear that.

hugs.gif
 

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