Broken/tweaked neck

[JacinLarkwell]

I found one of my babies had fallen and gotten his head stuck in a space of wire wall.

I got him out in one piece, thank goodness, but now he's having a hard time moving properly. He's looking his balance and stretches his leg out all the way. He can move every part of his body but can't seem to use them all together.

He's only 2 or 3 days old, if I keep him in one area and don't let him move is there much hope for him to get better?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well he's still alive and strong, if not scared he's by himself. But he still can't walk or balance himself

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

I'm so sorry! I wish I had advice to offer, but maybe @Eggcessive can help?

 

[Trisseh]

Supportive care is important for him, hard to say how much damage he’s done or if he just needs some time. a chick donut (basically a towel or something similar shaped into a donut to sit him inside to support him all around) or a cup like you’d use for splay legged chicks may help you keep him upright and stable while he works out his balance. You may need to hand feed and give him water dribbled along the side of his beak. Electrolyte/vitamin solution would be a good choice here. A mash of his feed will probably be easier than hard crumbles.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Thank you. He can still drink and I'm sure if he wanted to He could eat. Darn guy just doesn't want to stay still and rest. Im glad that theres hope for him. Hes so pretty and sweet, even with the Shining Twins as his moms

 

[Trisseh]

Also a good idea to double check for splay leg or slipped tendons in case he damaged himself flailing around and deal with those as appropriate.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

How would one check for slipped tendon and fix it if he had it? When I hold him he certainly uses one leg to balance and doesn't use weight on the other. When I down him, one leg was stretched out all the way and the other was tucked normal.

 

[Trisseh]

This Site has some good info on the subject. Usually with a slipped tendon, if you feel at the back of the leg, you can feel the “ropy” texture of it rolled off to the side. Compare it to the normal leg and you should feel and possibly see the difference. The tendon is supposed to run down a groove along the back of the hock, but when it slips, it pops out of that groove and winds up along the side of the leg. The direction of the foot turning will also give you an indication of which way the tendon went, to the inside or outside of the hock joint. Here is a picture of my chick that had slipped tendons, and splay leg as well. You can see how her right foot is rotated so if she were standing, she would be standing on the edge of her foot. Her tendon had slipped to the outside of the joint.