3-day old chick standing on one leg

[azygous]

Interesting. Some chicks hatch with genetic defects, some so severe they can't overcome them and they die. Some chicks hatch with genetic quirks. I'm wondering if this chick has a glitch in its circulation to its feet. Just an intuitive hunch.

What the heck, lets treat for it. It will involve spa treatment. Twice or three time a day warm Epsom salt foot soaks for fifteen minutes each time. Dry feet, and apply coconut oil or cannabis oil-salve if you can get it, which would do twice what the coconut oil alone would do.

 

[Sarah3]

Hmmm, interesting! We'll give it a whirl and see how things go!

 

[azygous]

A lot of treating chickens is trial and error, and most vets, I find, are usually in that realm as well. We'll just have to see how it goes, but I really hope we can make this little guy more comfortable and ease the pain.

Have you got Poultry Nutri-drench? It might be a good idea to give the chick a little drop each day for a bit to ease the stress of its body trying to cope with pain, which can take a toll on its health.

 

[Sarah3]

No I don't have Nutri-drench, but after looking at it's nutrients, it looks like I could probably achieve a similar effect by giving a small amount of our extra virgin cod liver oil which has a similar nutrient profile. I also always include raw milk kefir in my chick feed, which should supply a bunch of other nutrients, enzymes, beneficial bacteria, etc. Thanks for the tips!

Since I can now actually see something with the peeling feet, I'm going to try some homeopathics today to see if I can get any improvement that way. (I'm a homeopath; but there wasn't enough for me to prescribe on when I couldn't actually find any physical signs/symptoms earlier in this issue. I did give the chick a sprain remedy initially just in case it was a tendon issue, but there wasn't any obvious change from that. )

 

[Eggcessive]

Castor oil is very healing, and may be a little less messy to apply to the legs. What type of bedding are you using? Cod liver oil has a lot of vitamin A and D, which are fat soluble and can be overdone. I would go to your feed store and get Poultry Cell, or use B complex tablets ground/crushed onto food. PC has riboflain, where NutriDrench does not, and riboflavin is good for leg health.

 

[Sarah3]

The bedding is sand covered with dry leaves (sort of like a miniature deep litter). But whenever it is warm, the chicks are outside in grass and sunlight all day.

I'll keep you posted on how things go.

 

[Sarah3]

Well, shoot. This morning, both of her feet are cracked on the bottom, and she's cheeping a lot, standing on one foot/not wanting to stand. Really not sure what to do at this point. Any ideas as to why this is happening or what to do? The other 10 chicks we have are all doing great.... :\

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh no. Is the area hot and sunny where they are standing during the day? The cracking seems more from drying out. I think I would bring them back inside and place her on clean paper towels for a few days. You can soak the feet in warm mild soapy water, then coat in plain Neosporin or similar ointment. I think I would start the Poultry Cell or NutriDrench for the vitamins and trace minerals.

 

[azygous]

Have you heard of Bag Balm? It was developed for chapped and cracked cow udders. I first learned about it when I moved to the Arizona desert and my small kids developed very painful chapped hands. The druggist suggested Bag Balm.

I coated the little red hands with lots and lots of the salve and pulled socks over their hands. The stuff works wonders.

I would use Bag Balm on the chick's feet and wrap them with gauze bandage securely but not so tightly the chick can't walk.

I can't tell you why this is happening to this chick, but I suspect some sort of autoimmune disorder caused by faulty genetics. It will remain to be seen if this is something the chick will outgrow or not. I've never heard of it before, and I can't find anything about this condition in all the poultry articles I've come across in web searches.

Unless someone comes along and tells us about a case they have had and how they dealt with it, we're looking at something new for this site.

Exactly what type of sand are you using for the brooder? If it's unwashed sand from a dry lake bed, there may be salt in it that's contributing to this condition. Just for the heck of it, put some on your tongue and see if you detect salt.

 

[azygous]

I'm thinking the Epsom salt soaks are aggravating the chick's condition. You've probably come to the same conclusion. I'd quit doing them and focus on keeping the feet smeared with Bag Balm and bandaged, but I would redo the Bag Balm twice a day, morning and at night and hope the condition improves.