4 day old chick with splay leg?

[jordanlen]

My baby hatched this last Thursday and her mom wasn't taking care of her and pushing her away from the other chicks. I went back out to check on her and is thought she was dead but thankfully she wasn't. I brought her in and put her under the heat lamp in my room and noticed that she had an odd leg. It doesn't go out to the side like the standard splay leg, it goes backwards and I'm not sure if it's a deformity? We've got the sports wrap around her legs I just don't know if it's going to help. Also, she sleeps A LOT. She seems to be eating and drinking okay and goes to the bathroom a lot like she should so I don't know if she sleeps just because she's lonely. We're all pretty attached to her and she loves to sleep under my neck. Other then the leg I'm not very worried. Any advice would be great!

 

[loveallanimals]

I had this happen to one of my chicks this year. I caught it early though ( about 6 hours old) made a tape brace for it and it is fine now. Hope this helps.

 

[loveallanimals]

Here is a link that might help you. https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[Eggcessive]

I would bring in another chick to be her companion. They grow up very lonely as a single chicken, since the groups that are hatched or brooded together always seem to stay together the first year or so. It is taking a chance however since this chick may not survive for sure. Your chick may have a slipped achilles tendon, or a rotated femur, rather than a splay leg. Here are some good links to read about splay leg and tendon issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/756556/slipped-tendon-splayed-leg-confused
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/spraddle-leg-in-baby-chicks-what-is-it.html
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/01/chick-health-is-it-splay-spraddle-leg.html

 

[jordanlen]

I had this happen to one of my chicks this year. I caught it early though ( about 6 hours old) made a tape brace for it and it is fine now. Hope this helps.

how long did you keep the brace on?

 

[loveallanimals]

Your supposed to leave it on for like a couple of days or until it works I think. I caught my chick early like 3 hours old so I left it on for a day and then the chick was fine walking around like the rest of them. Be prepared I heard that this can take a while to fix.

 

[Eggcessive]

The more common splay leg can be fixed with a hobble on the legs for 3-5 days a lot of the time. But the worse slipped tendon or rotated femur is much harder to fix.