3-week old chick with a bad leg - any advice please

[RoyalChick]

I think this is really good news. I’m also impressed your vet was able to bootie wrap the tiny toes… wrapping adult chicken feet is a PITA sometimes and with tiny ones even more so. You have to be quite careful not to over tighten or misalign anything. Would love to see the bootie when everything has settled back down. Expect her to take a while to adjust to the wrap, standing and moving about, and just give her time to heal. The bootie is going to disrupt her balance a bit in the short term but if she can get back to using it normally it’s worth it.

Trouble is walking/limping around a bit better today here and we are what? two weeks into her rehab… I’m glad your wee one is still bopping around that’s much better than just sitting and moping about which has been Trouble’s coping method.

Even if this never resolves I still love this vet. She is game to try anything and she has a vet tech who is an animal whisperer and adores chickens. It took 3 of us and several attempts to get it and it is a bit too big for her but she is getting around somehow. I gave them all scrambled egg which is good for B vitamins in case that is the cause (as well as supplements in her water).
Poor Bernadette complained loudly throughout the procedure and deposited at least three large poops on the vet's table. The lovely vet said, well that shows she is eating well so it is a good sign. Anyone who can be happy at their desk being covered in my chicken's poop is alright by me!

 

[MaryJanet]

Even if this never resolves I still love this vet. She is game to try anything and she has a vet tech who is an animal whisperer and adores chickens. It took 3 of us and several attempts to get it and it is a bit too big for her but she is getting around somehow. I gave them all scrambled egg which is good for B vitamins in case that is the cause (as well as supplements in her water).
Poor Bernadette complained loudly throughout the procedure and deposited at least three large poops on the vet's table. The lovely vet said, well that shows she is eating well so it is a good sign. Anyone who can be happy at their desk being covered in my chicken's poop is alright by me!

I get that!

Peggy once dropped a poop on Dr Mark's exam table and he leaned over to get a closer look at it before saying, "not a bad poop Rocket." Rocket is his nickname for her i mean, how could I not have confidence in him when he has nicknames for the hens.

 

[Ponypoor]

Nothing is dislocated. She is able to weight-bear but her toes curl under so she is walking on the tops of her toes which are getting sore. Toes and hock joints looking a bit swollen. No sign of a wound to explain infection.
Thinking either a sprain (maybe someone jumped on her or maybe she landed badly) or riboflavin (B2) deficiency.
Plan of action is vitamin supplements in water and I am also going to give them scrambled egg in a minute. The vet also put a bootee on her - that is partly to straighten her toes but more to protect the tops of her toes from abrasion. Other than that wait and hope she recovers.
Vet said I could try a sling but that it might not be great if it freaks her out so I am holding off on that today as the whole vet visit was pretty traumatic.
She definitely has a will to live - she eats, drinks and poops with gusto - but it is a heartbreaking sight to see her flailing around.

Sounds like she should be ok, don't worry about her 'flailing' about I have found that animals don't have the same hangups we humans do .

I sure hope I'm a few days she improves, I will check in each day eagerly.

 

[RoyalChick]

Sounds like she should be ok, don't worry about her 'flailing' about I have found that animals don't have the same hangups we humans do .

I sure hope I'm a few days she improves, I will check in each day eagerly.

My worry about it is her getting enough to eat etc. She gets to the food but the others are faster and I obviously cannot introduce her to the big Princesses when she can't escape from them.
I am also nervous about whether I will be able to redo her bootee - I think it needs to come off every day or two to check and then I have to redo it! That will be tricky for sure.

 

[Ponypoor]

I think this is really good news. I’m also impressed your vet was able to bootie wrap the tiny toes… wrapping adult chicken feet is a PITA sometimes and with tiny ones even more so. You have to be quite careful not to over tighten or misalign anything. Would love to see the bootie when everything has settled back down. Expect her to take a while to adjust to the wrap, standing and moving about, and just give her time to heal. The bootie is going to disrupt her balance a bit in the short term but if she can get back to using it normally it’s worth it.

Trouble is walking/limping around a bit better today here and we are what? two weeks into her rehab… I’m glad your wee one is still bopping around that’s much better than just sitting and moping about which has been Trouble’s coping method.

Poor trouble , oh Kris you've had some of your own trouble it seems, these sort of things keep me awake at night.

Ok I will check in with both of you tomorrow

 

[Ponypoor]

I get that!

Peggy once dropped a poop on Dr Mark's exam table and he leaned over to get a closer look at it before saying, "not a bad poop Rocket." Rocket is his nickname for her i mean, how could I not have confidence in him when he has nicknames for the hens.

What an awesome Vet! That's great you're very lucky to have such a good one!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I get that!

Peggy once dropped a poop on Dr Mark's exam table and he leaned over to get a closer look at it before saying, "not a bad poop Rocket." Rocket is his nickname for her i mean, how could I not have confidence in him when he has nicknames for the hens.

Is there anyone that might be able to help you redo it?

 

[RoyalChick]

Is there anyone that might be able to help you redo it?

Maybe. I need to think about that. It isn’t everyone who would be up for that!

 

[MaryJanet]

What an awesome Vet! That's great you're very lucky to have such a good one!

I still can't adjust to it being luck because I've spent my whole life taking the availability of vets for granted. There are a few avian vets within a 45 minute drive of my house. It seems really strange that other people don't enjoy that privilege.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh, gosh, RC. I don’t like the looks of her curled under toes one bit.Glad she saw a vet and it is not a weight bearing problem.

it appears to me she has lost control of that foot. So that could be neurological, but I’m also wondering if it’s some sort of a slipped tendon situation. I don’t have any experience with that, but I know a lot of people on the forums do.

You already got @azygous, but I will tag a few more. There are several others, but I’m not sure who are the most experienced with physical injuries like this one.

@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
@casportpony