3 week old bantam trouble walking/standing

[GillyBee]

I need some advice! First time chick raiser. Hatched 4 batam crosses from 6 eggs. 1 needed a lot of assistance hatching. Had trouble walking and standing at first, has one outside toe turned under foot, but pretty sure I wasn't concerned about spraddle leg as was not considering hobbles etc. Against expectations by 2 weeks he looked like this (on left)

Smaller than 'siblings' but holding his own with 3 other bantam and 4 orpington buffs. Seemed to be catching up with them a bit in size at one point too. Did sometimes seem to lay under lamp more and I would prod him to go feed when others were. Had a few unsuccessful attempts at splinting toe (now seen there's a kind of tape top and bottom of foot flat option I could try one day), but seemed OK.

2 days ago (fri nite) he seemed to be having trouble and the non bent toe leg was splaying out to side or back and looked like he couldn't put weight on it. Also held out to side when laying down (not sure if everytime). I thought maybe he strained it or something.

Took to vet yesterday and he seemed to holding the other leg out. Sitting back on hocks. She said PTS as has twisted joints, bowed legs, likely to have other soft or deformed bones, will get arthritis and other issues. Congential. Also prob nutritional deficiency , but too late to supplement now.

He gets around limping and flapping, but leg (still think left one more) moves out to side and back. Is there anything I can/should do?

Just hobbled now, but now sure if its any use, leg seems twisted, not sure how short to pull it in and if just pulling it in will not help/cause more issue if pulling it whilst twisted. He won't hop with hobble as already learnt to walk. Do I try full-on vet wrapping every thing I can think? hips, legs, feet/toe and sit in a sling?? No idea if i'd get everything aligned (or could if bones bent etc.) or if he'd sit in sling. If you have ideas, give me detailed instructions!!! Thanks all

HE

 

[IvysAnimals]

I'm not sure what the best thing to do is ( I don't want to give you false info )... I'll comment for boosting the post! I hope he gets better

 

[Magpie2]

I had a chick suffering from severe vitamin deficiencies. He only made it to six weeks but I’m fairly certain that he could have made it if I knew what I do now. Your case is different than mine in many ways but the first sign for my little guy was leg issues so I’ll share what I did. Hope it helps.

The vet gave us “Harrison’s recovery formula” some sort of vitamin B source and painkillers.

I found some natural herbs to help with various things. In particular for him I used Dill, Rosemary, and occasionally Parsley mixed with his food.
https://www.imperfectlyhappy.com/herb-garden-chickens/#
Dill – Dill helps with appetite, digestion, respiratory health and is an antioxidant.
Parsley – Parsley is really an underrated herb. It is high in vitamins A, B, C as well as calcium and iron.
Rosemary – Rosemary is another herb that bugs detest but it can also be used as a pain reliever and to aid in respiratory health.

Other supplements
Cod liver oil (a couple drops mixed with food once a day)
Oats (finely chopped and mixed with food)
Vitamin A capsule (stabbed and drained a gel capsule. Mixed with food once a day)
Egg yolk (fresh and raw. Hand fed from a large measuring spoon. As much as he could drink) I would share the leftovers with his companion chick or cook it for them to eat later.
Electrolytes (https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2017/02/homemade-electrolyte-recipe-chicks.html)

https://www.tillysnest.com/2014/03/vitamin-deficiencies-in-backyard-chicks-html/

https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultr...ement-poultry/vitamin-deficiencies-in-poultry

https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultr...ement-poultry/mineral-deficiencies-in-poultry

I found the best way to get him to eat was to mix whatever I was feeding him with water. I’d mix it in front of him with a bamboo skewer (the length would catch his attention) in a measuring spoon or a plastic bottle cap. It starts out like a soup and then turns into a mush that you can pile on top of itself (he liked to bite through the little piles because he struggled to peck at his food).

I’d offer water often from a pipette so he could touch the drops and they would trickle down his throat.

One of his symptoms was very stiff joints and he was unable to preen so I would assist him and I found out that he went crazy for having his preen gland rubbed. This came in handy as a way to wake him up pleasantly when he fell asleep before he was actually full (he was very lethargic and could fall asleep just a few bites in).

I would also massage his crop to help things go down a little bit. This often helped move things as far as I could tell.

Eventually he was unable to walk or stand entirely so I’d make little hand towel donuts that he could push against without falling when he moved his legs.

I made some boot-like things that went over his feet that might help yours. I used cardboard from a tissue box as a base and tried to use it to keep his feet flat. He was very good at getting them off but the concept was solid.

Finally I managed to finish a little chair for him. I made it out of large and small popsicle sticks and used a face mask with holes for his legs and bum to hold him up. There were other things I had made for him before but this was by far the best. Another design that worked pretty well was the same idea but with a tissue box as the frame instead of popsicle sticks.
I’ll include images of both

Best of luck, I hope this helps.

These chicks are the same age and none are bantam breeds. The ginger pullet was only a little bigger in the beginning.

We did manage to fix the wry neck he developed at around week 3 or 4