3 week old Dominique walking funny

[KimmyIsRad]

Hi, my Dominique is three weeks old. We noticed pretty early on that she didn't like to jump around as much as the other chicks and we assumed it was just her personality, since she is still eating and drinking. She usually just sits in one spot and stays there until she needs to eat or drink. I have been beginning to worry lately, as my daughter is extremely attached to this particular chick (she named her Dottie). My husband and I took her out and let her walk on out floor. She really didn't want to walk. We had to make noise for her to walk and even then she would only go a few steps and stand there. Sometimes she would sit down again. Her walk was strange. It is kind of wobbly, almost bowlegged. We are pretty new to chickens, so any help would be wonderful!

 

[Eggcessive]

Vitamin deficiencies are common in chicks, mainly from the parent stock, and bone or tendon deformities are also common. Figuring out which it is can be the hard part. Start poultry vitamins in the water right away, and for a temporary fix, you can use Poly/Visol without iron 2-3 drops daily by mouth. Avian Super Pack is a good online poultry vitamin, and dosage is 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons, and good for the others. She could have slipped tendon, rotated tibia, rickets, or any number of problems. Here are some links to help, and if you could post a picture of her legs standing it might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/756556/slipped-tendon-splayed-leg-confused
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/217/vitamin-b2-deficiency
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/220/slipped-tendon-perosis

 

[KimmyIsRad]

There's a lot of great info in those links, thank you! I'll take a picture in the morning, but she doesn't look like the picture of splayed leg or of slipped tendon. She stands almost regularly. Just maybe not quite as up-tall as the others. Here is one I took earlier when my husband put her on the floor. I took it because it I thought it was weird that her legs were so far apart. She doesn't normally do that and she stayed in that position for a long time.

 

[KimmyIsRad]

Here she is on my counter, drinking the special water.

 

[KimmyIsRad]

Actually, she isn't drinking it. Just looking at it.

 

[Eggcessive]

I might be inclined to put a little vet wrap hobble around her legs if she continues to hold them wide apart. Scroll down to the pictures on page 14 in this link about vitamin D deficiency and other bone deformities: http://nhjy.hzau.edu.cn/kech/synkx/dong/2bao/Bone disorders in poultry.pdf

Here is another link showing the leg hobble for splay leg: http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html

 

[KimmyIsRad]

Thank you.