5 day old Silkie chick slipped tendon?

[chickendreams24]

Hi everyone.

Okay I've never had this problem before in my several years with chickens so if you could please help me out that would be great.

I've dealt with bumblefoot, predator attacks and wounds, splay legs, yolks not absorbed. You name it I think I've seen or done it except a couple things including this.

Okay so background splash silkie picked up on Wednesday the 18th given to me by the feed store(I personally know the people) as it had had a minor pasty butt with the tiniest look of prolapse(just sore and red and swollen more than anything). I brought it home along with 10 other chicks. A total of 9 silkies and two Welsummer pullets. They gave me three of the chicks I brought home. Anyhow we did lose two chicks one I was given and one other. Failure to thrive although I now suspect one may have had a slipped hock but idk.

I know the store they're wonderful with their birds and receive them from Cackle hatchery. They take great care of them. The always treat them for pasty butt too if needed.

Okay so the chick was given electrolytes and probiotics at the store.

I forgot to pick up save a chick but have been adding nutridrench to their waterer. I have only had to clean it's butt a couple of times and treated it for the prolapse with hemherroid ointment. The prolapse is entirely better. They're all nice and warm and spread out.

Yesterday we celebrated Easter with my family and so we were gone all day. Before we left I left them an extra dish of food(along with their normal feeder). They've been making quite the mess but I don't mind.
When we came home this chick was in the then empty dish on it's side seeming to be stuck. I immediately picked it up to check on it expecting it to be splay leg. I'm not sure it isn't also affected by splay leg but it doesn't seem to be the main problem.

I've read the poultry podiatry article top to bottom many times. We immediately did the stretches as told about in poultry podiatry but they haven't seemed to help as much as I would like and only temporarily. I have separated the chick in the brooder in a smaller area so that it is safe, it can be in the heat or out. The chick is now also off it's feed. I am feeding it a mix of egg yolk, vitamins and electrolytes and water via spoon. It eats readily from the spoon but has shown no interest in it's chick starter crumbles since yesterday. It's losing weight quickly.

Again this chick was entirely healthy and happy before yesterday. It was one of the largest silkie chicks we got.

I'm afraid we're going to lose it.

I worry it could be something worse than a slipped tendon. It can support it's self but barely. The left leg sticks out but not in the way of splay leg. It also usually is sitting on its hocks or iver onto it's right side. It cannot get up once down.

Thanks guys please let me know if I need to give you more information or pictures.

 

[Eggcessive]

Try feeding it some wet chick feed with a lot of water, and some egg. It might have one of the common leg bone deformities such as varus valgus, or TD deformity, which may affect one leg or both. But I would keep up with the Nutridrench. Poultry Cell also has riboflavin which may help the sitting on hocks. Here is some reading:

https://www.researchgate.net/public..._of_the_Intertarsal_Joint_in_Broiler_Chickens

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul.../noninfectious-skeletal-disorders-in-broilers

 

[chickendreams24]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately the little splash silkie passed away last night.

Is it unusual for a chick to pass away so quickly from a possible slipped tendon?

I'm trying to figure out if there's something more going on. I've never lost so many babies in a broody before except once to cocci. These guys certainly don't have cocci.

Could the ones all lost just have had a hard time in shipping to the feed store. I really hope I don't lose more.

I will still read the links you sent me as I'm always trying to learn more and I want to understand for the future what may have happened with this little one.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Shipping stress can be hard on chicks, and bantams especially who are more delicate. After visiting some feed stores in the last couple of years, the longer the chicks are there, the less of a chance they might have.

I have seen bantams in brooders with nipple feeders, where some were too short to even reach the water. Regular waterers would be best for feed stores. Also brooders which were so large and overcrowded, chicks could barely get from one side to the other to drink or eat. All of the batam chicks I saw last week had pasty butt. One store even had no barriers to prevent shoppers and kids from picking up chicks.

 

[chickendreams24]

Yeah I know some feed stores can be very bad but this store is great and I got the chicks the day they arrived. They sell out very quickly.

The store uses chick drinkers and blocks off two whole aisles with brooders(stock tanks of varrying sizes and totes) line the aisles. If you ask they let you come in and see the chicks, they are also very careful about not letting people handle them. They usually have one layer of brooders on the bottom shelf near ground level and one on a second shelf. I've seen it where people ordered so many chicks their orders (orders are kept separate) were in the largest stock tanks they sell and stillwerentst crowded.

They change waterers at least 3-4 times a day adjust lights even swap for larger brooders if needed. The chicks are never overcrowded.

They clean any pasty butt that occurs but it seldom happens. I've bought bantams before but I've never had this much trouble. Usually we do buy large fowl more though and often hatch our own bantams. It has been unseasonably cold here in WI with several later blizzards.

Could this all just chalk up to shipping stress?