4 week old chick with leg problem

[Eggcessive]

Sorry, I see that she is 4 weeks, and I was writing as Wyorp Rock posted, so sorry for the some similar info.

 

[WVduckchick]

Kinda looks like the hip is displaced. Can you bend the leg manually? Does it move at the hip joint?

Here's what I would try if it were mine. Hold your left hand out, palm up, fingers toward the right, in front of your chest. Lay the chick's belly in your left hand, feet pointing back toward your body, overhanging your pinky finger/palm. Grasp the feet and legs between your right thumb and forefinger. Slowly lower your left hand (kinda bowling ball or lawn-dart starting motion) and let the bird dangle for just a few seconds. Twist your wrist outward, and the bird's reaction should be to lift its head/chest/body upward toward your hand. (keep your hand under, but not touching, and don't drop her! lol) When it does, you can re-grab the body. This will sometimes "reset" a slipped hip or knee joint. It won't hurt the bird, and I would think its worth a try.

 

[Eggcessive]

I was hoping that you would post WVduckchick

 

[SimonM]

Thank you all so much for this advice; this is the first time we have encountered any health problems with our birds and feel completely out of our depth.

In terms of the vitamin B supplement I've been giving her in her water, I'll have to get my wife to translate and update you later as the packet is all in Thai. All I can tell you at this point is its a pink powder that turns the water pink/red. The only English text on the label says B10 B12.
I'll visit our local pet food supplier this afternoon and see what other vitamins he has that you guys listed.
Failing that, I'll try and add B2 foods to her diet and see what she will eat. So far, she has refused boiled egg but has eaten some of the ground almonds.

Is it safe to give her ground human vitamin pills (I may have more look getting B2 supplements from the pharmacy but they obviously wont be for birds)?

Eggcessive, the issue with her foot is very recent (since putting her in the vetwrap). She does not open her toes out and her foot twists on its side when she puts weight on it - basically, she's standing on her ankle.

Regarding WVduckchick's post, this was my original thought when she first started to show signs of leg problems. To me, the whole leg appeared to wobble outwards at the hip as though this was the origin of her injury/illness. I looked for hip problems in young chicks but was unable to find anything that resembled the way she was walking.

In the early stages, she walked with her affected leg held forward. She was able to move around very well at this time but would appear to tire and then the leg would buckle under her weight. When this happened, it seemed to be the hip joint that was giving way.

I will try your suggestion and update on her progress. I'll post some photo / video of her without the leg strapping.

I will remove the leg bracing and focus on vitamin B2.

Thank you all again so much!

 

[SimonM]

Today, we have removed the vetwrap and let her have a run about. She is trying to stand on the affected leg, but clearly this is not taking her wight and sounds like it is causing her pain.
I've had a feel of her legs. The tendon feels like it is straight up the back of the leg and I cannot feel any movement there either.
But to me, the hip looks like it is protruding when compared to the right leg.

We have tried the method suggested by WVduckchick, but I just realized we did not do the outward twisting of the wrist step (I'll try again later).

She does seem move lively today than yesterday and is still eating and flying about. I hope it is the vitamin deficiency and it can be reversed.

Apologies for the poor quality of my video, the cameras autofocus is faulty, you can hear it clicking.

 

[SimonM]

Just to add some more info. now she is settled on my lap she is ok for me to feel around her leg.
Her foot feels limp and cool. I cannot feel her try to move the toes when I put my finger in the base pf her foot.
Lower leg feels ok; I cannot feel and sliding in the tendon.
Upper leg too feels ok but looks twisted to the side, which makes her lower leg and foot point in the wrong direction for normal walking (a bit like rotating your wrist outwards).
When I try to feel around the very top part of her leg, she doesn't like it - as though it is tender to the touch.

 

[Saaniya]

Today, we have removed the vetwrap and let her have a run about. She is trying to stand on the affected leg, but clearly this is not taking her wight and sounds like it is causing her pain.
I've had a feel of her legs. The tendon feels like it is straight up the back of the leg and I cannot feel any movement there either.
But to me, the hip looks like it is protruding when compared to the right leg.

We have tried the method suggested by WVduckchick, but I just realized we did not do the outward twisting of the wrist step (I'll try again later).

She does seem move lively today than yesterday and is still eating and flying about. I hope it is the vitamin deficiency and it can be reversed.

Apologies for the poor quality of my video, the cameras autofocus is faulty, you can hear it clicking.

View attachment 1619035 View attachment 1619036 View attachment 1619037

Is her finger is injured or bruised?

 

[SimonM]

I don't see any signs of external injury to her at all

 

[WVduckchick]

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.

 

[Eggcessive]

Riboflavin (vitamin B 2) is found in human B complex tablets as well as in nutritional yeast, chopped beef liver, ground beef and pork, ground almonds, egg, and many other foods. Here is some info on common leg bone deformities in poultry:
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._of_the_Intertarsal_Joint_in_Broiler_Chickens

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1051/leg-health-in-large-broilers/