4 week old chick with leg problem

So sorry it’s not looking good. Some leg issues can be fixed and some cannot. It appears that you are doing everything you can, I’m at a loss of what else to try. I’ve had to put down a few chicks with leg problems.

I’m curious about the incubation. Did this chick hatch on time with no issues? Correct position in the egg, etc? Maybe humidity high?
Not accusing you of doing anything incorrectly, I am just always curious why these things happen and wonder if there may have been an issue while still inside the egg.

It was our first and only attempt using the incubator, so the thought of me doing something wrong has been nagging in the back of my mind - all the more reason I want to see her recover.
I stopped turning the eggs on day 18 - I ensured the wider end of the eggs were pointing up more than down.
The egg hatched on day 19 of being in the incubator, which caught us by surprise. The thought she may have suffered an injury soon after hatching has also crossed my mind, but the leg issue was not noticeable until this past week or so.
Needless to say, I am in no rush to try and do the hens job any time soon - she managed to hatch 6 of the 7 eggs left in the coop. Although 1 went missing, she still has 5 healthy chicks running about outside.

I've read about people feeding raw garlic or selenium to chicks with similar conditions. But, I don't want to make her condition any worse than it is.
 
It was our first and only attempt using the incubator, so the thought of me doing something wrong has been nagging in the back of my mind - all the more reason I want to see her recover.
I stopped turning the eggs on day 18 - I ensured the wider end of the eggs were pointing up more than down.
The egg hatched on day 19 of being in the incubator, which caught us by surprise. The thought she may have suffered an injury soon after hatching has also crossed my mind, but the leg issue was not noticeable until this past week or so.
Needless to say, I am in no rush to try and do the hens job any time soon - she managed to hatch 6 of the 7 eggs left in the coop. Although 1 went missing, she still has 5 healthy chicks running about outside.

I've read about people feeding raw garlic or selenium to chicks with similar conditions. But, I don't want to make her condition any worse than it is.

There usually aren’t many definite answers, so don’t blame yourself.

Had the hen already been sitting on this egg? Day 19 is a bit early, but not totally uncommon. But it’s usually caused by running temps just a bit high.
Very nice that the hen has some babies. Hopefully this one can eventually join them!
 
There usually aren’t many definite answers, so don’t blame yourself.

Had the hen already been sitting on this egg? Day 19 is a bit early, but not totally uncommon. But it’s usually caused by running temps just a bit high.
Very nice that the hen has some babies. Hopefully this one can eventually join them!
She was still laying, so this chick is almost 1 week older than her siblings.
 
Update on my chick: Last night I gave her a good helping of ground almond, eggshell, and a clove of garlic mixed into her regular feed. I also got hold of some vitamin B pills from the pharmacy that included B2 and B6 amongst others and dissolved one of them into about 1.5 litres of water.
After eating and downing almost 10ml of the water, she was quite happy to sit on my knee for a couple of hours while I worked on massaging her leg and foot and getting it back under her body.
At first, it felt like she was holding her leg stiff and the lower leg and foot were rotated outwards, but it relaxed as I worked on it and eventually she was sitting with both feet tucked beneath her as they should be. While in this position, I placed one of my fingers in the base of her foot and began moving the limb back and forth to try and stimulate her to resist me moving it.
After a short break, I repeated the physio for another hour or 2, by which time she had really livened up.
I could feel some movement in her foot and she has motor function in her leg for sure. She was also trying to walk with the affected leg although her walking action was more like rowing a boat; the leg would slide out to the side.

From sitting on my lap to sitting in my hand and trying to walk about, she flew up to perch on my shoulder. She was chirping a lot, not in a pain way, and I could see she was sitting with the affected leg just to her side, but clearly facing the right way and with the foot faced down as it should - no longer rotated outwards.

This morning, her leg was back to the splayed position and feeling stiff, but the splaying did not look as severe as previously.

I will repeat the treatment again this evening and monitor her progress, but she certainly seems to have responded well to the vitamins.
 
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Update on my chick: Last night I gave her a good helping of ground almond, eggshell, and a clove of garlic mixed into her regular feed. I also got hold of some vitamin B pills from the pharmacy that included B2 and B6 amongst others and dissolved one of them into about 1.5 litres of water.
After eating and downing almost 10ml of the water, she was quite happy to sit on my knee for a couple of hours while I worked on massaging her leg and foot and getting it back under her body.
At first, it felt like she was holding her leg stiff and the lower leg and foot were rotated outwards, but it relaxed as I worked on it and eventually she was sitting with both feet tucked beneath her as they should be. While in this position, I placed one of my fingers in the base of her foot and began moving the limb back and forth to try and stimulate her to resist me moving it.
After a short break, I repeated the physio for another hour or 2, by which time she had really livened up.
I could feel some movement in her foot and she has motor function in her leg for sure. She was also trying to walk with the affected leg although her walking action was more like rowing a boat; the leg would slide out to the side.

From sitting on my lap to sitting in my hand and trying to walk about, she flew up to perch on my shoulder. She was chirping a lot, not in a pain way, and I could see she was sitting with the affected leg just to her side, but clearly facing the right way and with the foot faced down as it should - no longer rotated outwards.

This morning, her leg was back to the splayed position and feeling stiff, but the splaying did not look as severe as previously.

I will repeat the treatment again this evening and monitor her progress, but she certainly seems to have responded well to the vitamins.


Once the med (Vitamin) kicks the bloodstream u will note improvement
 
Nugget (name suggested by one of my students) responded well to the treatment again last night. I added an extra clove of garlic to the mix and she tucked into her food.

Her lower leg looks like it has gained some meat, but the very top part of the leg / shoulder joint is notably different to her other leg. I had a good poke about in that area last night and am certain there is no dislocation or fracture.

Her foot is still not opening to a position where she can walk on it, but I can see her toes twitching from time to time and she is trying hard to walk on the leg. I've also noticed she is able to bring the leg back in front of her when sitting.

As a brachial plexus injury sufferer myself, I have a good idea what she is experiencing and know it will take time to rebuild the muscles that have wasted or not properly formed. I also know that damaged nerves are able to repair themselves, but slowly.

The vitamin pills I got contain B2, B6, and B12. I've read that chickens can tolerate high levels of B vitamins as the body will only absorb what it needs, so I was thinking of increasing the dosage; maybe 1 pill in 0.5 litre of water? or higher???
Does anyone have any comment against doing this? I figure dissolving the vitamin in water will enable it to absorb into the blood faster than crushing it and having her eat it, plus, she makes quite a mess when eating and may flick a lot of it out rather than eat it.

I also read that vitamin b deficiency in the parents can also lead to poor hatching rate and deficiency problems in the chicks, so I have started to add some extra B's to the food of the other chickens. The previous batch of eggs (in August) was less than 50% successful.

Quite a learning experience!
Nugget and I are very appreciative to this forum and the members who have offered advice.
 
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I would use a whole tablet in the 0.5 liter of water, but it can be given directly on some food she would eat, such as egg. Using it on food, only give 1/4 or 0.25 of a tablet. If you have liver available, you can give bits of chopped liver daily, keeping the rest frozen until you need it. It is rich in all B vitamins.
 

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