4 day old chicks having leg problems?

[clkingtx]

Hello,

I got an assortment of chicks from Ideal, standards and banties. They are about 4 days old. I had one come in with curled toes, I have splints on its feet. None of the others seeed to have any problems. Today I notice two of the babies(standard breed, I think) are having trouble standing. They can stand, and they can run, but they stop quick and lay down with their leg or legs to their sides. One is a yellow chick, and one is an orangish red chick. I don't know what kinds they are, they were a surprise assortment.

I have them on wood chips with paper towels and t shirts on top, and they have been eating a medicated chick food. I just found out the chick food I had was only 18%protein(I thought I had 24%), so I bought some gamebird feed(chick starter) which is 28% protein, and mixed the two, making the food about 25% protein. I thought maybe those two were a broiler type bird that needed the higher protein. The orange/red one is one of the smaller standard chicks, the yellow one is almost the same size as the bantams, just a little bigger.

I may just not have noticed that these chicks were acting this way before, I had seen some sleeping sprawled out on their sides with their legs stuck out to the side. I just thought it was a funny way to sleep, didn't think it might be a sign of a problem.

Does this sound like maybe a diet issue? Or something else?

thanks,
Carrie

 

[Happy Chooks]

It's called spraddle leg. Here's a link to leg problems. You can correct it with a band aid (or pipe cleaner) around the legs.

http://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/leg-braces

Also, vitamins would probably help. If you don't have the powder vitamins for chickens, you can use poly-vi-sol (without iron) either directly on the chickens beak or in their waterer.

ETA: Here's another link that has better pictures and help.
http://www.poultryhelp.com/spraddle.html

 

[clkingtx]

I have durvet high performance poultry pak, electrolyte and vitamin mix, will that work? Is it ok for the ducks, or do they even need it? Should I use the dosage on the package, or make it weaker?

Is it because of the lower protein food? Does it sound like maybe these are broiler chicks, or does that not have anything to do with spraddle leg. I will read up on it as soon as I get back home.
Thank you.

Carrie

 

[Happy Chooks]

I have Durvet Vitamins and Electrolytes Powder. There's a scooper inside the bottle and 1 scoop goes in 1 gallon water. Hope that helps.

Oh, and I don't know a thing about ducks, so I'm not sure what's good for their little bodies.

 

[clkingtx]

Thanks. I looked at the links you provided, and I think what these chicks had is twisted leg. I say had because they both seem much improved. The little yellow chick is running around totally normal, and the little orangish red one is walking around, eating and drinking; just slowly, with her/his legs spread just a hair wider than normal. They are keeping their legs under them, are getting around with little or no difficulty, and seem ok. I took the paper towels out of all the brooders this morning, and everybody seems really happy. They are loving to be able to dig and scratch and fluff in the bedding. Some are nestling down in it, and fluffing it on top of them, like taking a dust bath!

I wonder if I should go ahead and add the vitamins/electrolytes to their water. The pouch that I bought is a single use packet, pour one pouch in 1 gallon of water for normal use, or 2 pouches in a gallon of water for more serious cases. It says for those who have gone off food, or are in poor condition, etc. They seem to all be doing great. Some are having some pasty butt, but other than that, they are doing great. I had read about some electrolyte/vitamin mixtures causing problems for babies, so I am little reluctant to use it if I am not absolutely sure they need it.

Thanks again,
Carrie