4 week old - leg issue

[iwjack6]

I have a 4 week old Tolbunt Polish chick that seems to have a weak leg. It seems to be getting around when it needs to, but spends much time down on it. The leg does not seem to get pushed out to the side. These chicks have been on this surface for about a week. It is getting food (chick feed) water. I’ve attached 2 videos.

Thanks for any help!

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Does the leg look injured in any way? Any bumps? Is it twisting? The surface is fine, so that shouldn't be it. If she's eating, drinking, and pooping normally than it probably isn't an illness. However, I noticed in the video that she looked significantly smaller than the other chicks. It's very possible that one of them might've stepped on her. Because she can't move around as much, I would separate her from the others into a smaller hot box. The food and water should also be pretty near to her. You don't want her walking around on it too much in case it is an injury, because that could both cause further damage and stress. Keep an eye out for any signs of illness though.

 

[iwjack6]

Up until yesterday she was just with 3 other chicks. Thinking back I think this has been there prior to that, I just didn’t realize there was an issue I can’t seem to find any specific injury - no swelling, weird angles, obvious pain when manually extending it. The toes seem a bit weak to spread out, but are not deformed. I’ll try giving her a separate protected area with food and water to see if she can heal up without getting run over.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

That sound good! It might've been an early injury that you never noticed (it happens). Now that she's older it could've healed the wrong way or gotten worse. But if she's not sick, and doesn't seem to be getting any worse after a few weeks, then she'll probably be fine. You'll just need to give her some TLC.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Also, if that's your daughter's voice in the video she sounds adorable! The way she said 'give it medicine' is just the cutest.

 

[AllenK RGV]

My curiosity is where in the world do you live to need those heat lamps? The chicks look well feathered enough for outside without it unless you are in the southern hemisphere. Best wishes.

 

[iwjack6]

My curiosity is where in the world do you live to need those heat lamps? The chicks look well feathered enough for outside without it unless you are in the southern hemisphere. Best wishes.

Ha! Totally fair - I’m super paranoid about being cold I also just put in 2 week old chicks with them. Everyone has plenty of room to get away from the heat, but they’ll be weaning off shortly

 

[iwjack6]

Also, if that's your daughter's voice in the video she sounds adorable! The way she said 'give it medicine' is just the cutest.

Yep, she’s 4 and lovesssss the chickens

 

[nao57]

You know...

If you have checked the chicken and can't find ANY visible injuries....

Then its very possible this is actually a slipped tendon.

It isn't unusual for animals to be born with slipped tendons. I've seen some cats with them. And dogs can get them also.

A lot of the time for chickens they don't get reported because its easier to send it to the barbecue chamber, and replace it.

Especially slipped tendons may be the case when there's no visible injuries and its under 7 weeks of age. (For other animals also its a newborn condition.)

With kittens and puppies they'd fix it with a cast to correct it. I'm not sure how you'd fix it with a chicken, but probably someone could try something similar.

But any vet bill is going to be about the size of the cost to get about 10 chickens.

 

[iwjack6]

You know, I was curious about this. The only info I could find on it was that a slipped tendon results in a leg out to the side. This chick definitely is keeping its leg under its body. Could it still be a tendon? Is there a way to determine if it’s a tendon issue? Being a Polish, I’m not too excited about making it dinner, kind of a skinny little breed

You know...

If you have checked the chicken and can't find ANY visible injuries....

Then its very possible this is actually a slipped tendon.

It isn't unusual for animals to be born with slipped tendons. I've seen some cats with them. And dogs can get them also.

A lot of the time for chickens they don't get reported because its easier to send it to the barbecue chamber, and replace it.

Especially slipped tendons may be the case when there's no visible injuries and its under 7 weeks of age. (For other animals also its a newborn condition.)