baby chick--injured joint at leg? Not using leg-what to do??

[jobear]

We received our chicks on Wed. and one arrived with an injured leg? It is swollen at the joint and it is not using the leg. It's wing is outstretched (for balance?) and it sleeps a lot. I've been putting ointment on the joint (has a little dried fluid on it?) and trying to make sure it drinks.
Any suggestions?? We are new at this and not sure what to do? Please help!

 

[draperchick]

Wow, I was just about to post a picture of our chick that has the same leg problem! Would love to hear if anyone has seen this before and what to do about it. Seems like a deformity of some kind. Joint seems swollen or larger than it should be.

Our chick is hopping on one leg and keeps the injured one pulled up. Acts tired a lot, lies down and gets trampled on by the other chicks. But she is able to eat and drink, but probably not quite as much as she should be.

 

[draperchick]

Here is a pic of ours with what looks like the same problem. I hope the photo works. Haven't done this before.

 

[horsejody]

Possibly a slipped tendon

http://www.peafowl.org/ARTICLES/1/

 

[skeetar]

Quote:
Does anyone have a link with more information about how to fix this slipped tendon issue? I have no idea what I am looking for on the chicks foot.

 

[jenni2142]

If it is a slipped tendon then the hock joint will look flat at the back, the tendon lies in a groove at the back of the joint and should be centered. if it is not centered the joint will look flat.

 

[jobear]

I found a discussion on this and tried pulling the leg staight back gently to put the joint back in line?--it didn't seem like it worked? I have also been band-aid'ing the legs together --someone had suggested that if it were also spraddle leg. I don't know if anything I am doing is doing any good though. Should the leg pop or something when you pull the leg back to put it in joint? it is pretty swollen. And it's foot seems pretty listless and limp.

 

[jenni2142]

If the joint is that swollen you may not be able to put it back in by pulling the leg back. When I used that technique the joint was not swollen and I could see but not feel it go in. is the foot warm, does it move the foot at all? You may be able to roll it back to the center with a very gentle pinching motion. It will not pop and it may not stay in. swelling can indicate serious joint damage or infection.

 

[jobear]

our poor baby chick passed last night--we found it totally limp and hardly breathing...so sad Thanks for all the advice--we did try everything..I think it was just too infected/swollen or such--she wasn't eating or drinking enough either. I'm excited to see these other 11 that we have grow up now..

 

[draperchick]

How old was the chick? I'm still really wondering what to do about ours (now 5 days old). Ours has been hopping around on one leg. How do you know when to go ahead and cull? At this point we're just waiting to see if we can figure out a way to fix it.