Hello, I am new to the forum and am seeking advice on an 8 day old Serama chick. I don't know if she is in too much pain or what to do. She was hatched with a leg twisted backwards. I tried using a brace made of vet tape for splayed leg, which is what I first thought it was, and while this stabilised her leg enough to be able to move around and eat in her first week, it is still severely twisted backwards and seems to be in pain. I think she either was hatched with a hip deformity or injured herself during a difficult hatch. Because she was accidentally getting trampled by her mum and also once got left out in cold, I have put her in a brooder with one other chick. At 8 days the other chick weighs a healthy 29 grams but sick chick weighs only 19 grams (they both weighted 15g at hatch, sick chick went down to 13g at first but now is up to 19g). She is eating and drinking but has great difficulty moving around so eats only a very little at a time, often losing balance and flapping away from food in a circle and too tired to get back to finish her meal. I have left chick crumbs all over the brooder to help, but they do like the wet chick crumbs. All my attempts to put her in a sling near food, hold her near food, try to bandage the backwards leg into a more normal position etc have failed. She wriggled free of bandages and slings with great determination (and is so tiny I am afraid of using anything tighter on her). Because her sister is so lively now, the healthy chick is always knocking into the bad leg of the injured chick, causing her pain - she flinches and tries to stay away in one corner. She is doing her best tomove around and eat or drink, but is very nervous of pain and tries to stay away from her sister and also is now scared of me too. She tends only to give a little cheep of alarm when her sister knocks into her, but otherwise is mostly quiet. I cannot tell how much pain she may be in and am very worried about whether it is cruel to keep her like this. I can't afford to see a vet. Ihave now removed the vet-tape brace now because it was doing her no good and seemed to be causing her more difficulties/pain. She is able to still move around to find food without it now she is a little stronger. I am so worried about what to do to help her.
(1) My question is whether to keep going and see if she improves or whether she may be in too much pain and it would be kinder to euthanize. Please help, especially if you have had any experience of this situation.
(2) Should I separate her from her sister? The sister cries if she is separated by some chicken wire mesh I used and I worry they both may be too hot or two cold when I put a separator in. I am worried that if sick chick dies, healthy chick will be alone and will be too old for her mother to accept her back. Should I put her back now and keep sick chick alone or would this be too traumatic for sick chick?
Thanks in advance for your help.
(1) My question is whether to keep going and see if she improves or whether she may be in too much pain and it would be kinder to euthanize. Please help, especially if you have had any experience of this situation.
(2) Should I separate her from her sister? The sister cries if she is separated by some chicken wire mesh I used and I worry they both may be too hot or two cold when I put a separator in. I am worried that if sick chick dies, healthy chick will be alone and will be too old for her mother to accept her back. Should I put her back now and keep sick chick alone or would this be too traumatic for sick chick?
Thanks in advance for your help.
