Can this chick be saved?

[birdsandbabies]

Is this chick savable? I do not want it to suffer, so I just need confirmation of my gut feeling, I guess.

3 days old, very noisy, deformed feet (maybe legs, too?), barely can stand (if at all), wobbles/scoots on chest if it tries walking.

Just gave raw egg and have Save-A-Chick to give. New to hatching, but I’ve learned a lot on BYC.

 

[Pigeony]

Is this chick savable? I do not want it to suffer, so I just need confirmation of my gut feeling, I guess.

3 days old, very noisy, deformed feet (maybe legs, too?), barely can stand (if at all), wobbles/scoots on chest if it tries walking.

Just gave raw egg and have Save-A-Chick to give. New to hatching, but I’ve learned a lot on BYC.

Likely yes. The chick will need you to fashion it "shoes" to straighten out its toes, but it could potentially grow up normal. A flat, chick foot-sized, piece of cardboard and some regular band-aids to hold it onto the foot is a simple method. Everybody has their own way of doing it, but the main point is to make sure the foot can lay in normal position flat on the ground instead of curled. The earlier in development you fix this with shoes the better, waiting longer means the fix is less likely to work. The chick has to relearn how to walk and develop the necessary muscles, so it takes time. The shoes will have to be worn at least a couple days.

 

[Pigeony]

Likely yes. The chick will need you to fashion it "shoes" to straighten out its toes, but it could potentially grow up normal. A flat, chick foot-sized, piece of cardboard and some regular band-aids to hold it onto the foot is a simple method. Everybody has their own way of doing it, but the main point is to make sure the foot can lay in normal position flat on the ground instead of curled. The earlier in development you fix this with shoes the better, waiting longer means the fix is less likely to work. The chick has to relearn how to walk and develop the necessary muscles, so it takes time. The shoes will have to be worn at least a couple days.

Are the feet/legs actually deformed in some way or just curled?

 

[Intuit]

Is this chick savable? I do not want it to suffer, so I just need confirmation of my gut feeling, I guess.

3 days old, very noisy, deformed feet (maybe legs, too?), barely can stand (if at all), wobbles/scoots on chest if it tries walking.

Just gave raw egg and have Save-A-Chick to give. New to hatching, but I’ve learned a lot on BYC.

Try this link https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-fix-curled-toes-in-chicks.1250947/

 

[birdsandbabies]

Are the feet/legs actually deformed in some way or just curled?

I guess more curled than deformed.

 

[Pigeony]

I guess more curled than deformed.

Curled is better! Curled is fixable, with deformed it depends. Check the link another member posted, you could get this chick walking again with a little effort.

 

[birdsandbabies]

I did the tape instead of cardboard. It seems to be making it worse. Now the chick is either just rolling over and/or one leg ends up behind it. I'm worried it's not eating or drinking because it can't move well.

 

[Project Blue]

Make pipe stem "W"s as close to the size of his feet and a few extras to get a good fit. Use a paper towel to wrap around his body with just the feet sticking out and tape him to a table so you can work getting the Ws on his feet. Have little strips of tape ready. If his legs are straddled a rubber band taped at either end with little loops to get his legs thru should get him going. Chick orthopedics work very well the earlier you do it after hatching. 3 days is a little late as the bones start harding, but there's nothing to lose trying. I have big bad poultry that started out weak couldn't stand, curled toes etc and they do just fine with a little help. The trick is to gently try to align and support. A weak chick might benefit with a quick bill dip in sugar water. The minuscule amount will be just enough to get them going.