Chick can't walk on foot,toes curled,badly bruised,etc.

[Chicken Girl123]

My buff orpington chick,Buffy,can't walk on one foot.We keep the chicks in a large coyote trap inside our coop.We found her with a couple feathers missing(she's the runt),but didn't notice anything.But then we noticed she couldn't walk on one foot.(We were taking her home to get her away from the other chickens)Then she rolled on one side.Two of her toes were curled back and badly bruised,and the third slowly curled back to make a fist.She's not drinking MUCH,but she's drinking ENOUGH.I'm just really worried about her.She also has bruises near the spot where feathers turn into scales.Any advice?She has feed, water, and a soft ,damp wash cloth to snuggle with and take naps beside(she's been doing quite a bit of that lately).Please help!!

 

[Judy]

You could try taping the foot into position against a light piece of cardboard with duct tape. I wouldn't keep her separate unless the others attack enough to or draw blood. If you do keep her separate, you might consider putting one other chick with her for company.

 

[Chicken Girl123]

We put the cardboard on her last night ,and we're probaly going to buy another chick later today.We put a small suction cup mirror on the side of her"chick infirmary" and gave her a small dog toy shaped like a bird.When I woke up,she was using the dog toy as a pillow.

 

[Chicken Girl123]

But the thing is, She won't put the foot down AT ALL unless she's sleeping.I sorta expected that,but what I didn't expect was that when I picked her up and stretched her leg so it wouldn't get too stiff she would scream at the top of her lungs.But she did.Any advice for that?

 

[Judy]

Here is the long, but much better, answer:

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[Chicken Girl123]

Thank you!

 

[FlyHigher]

It's Marek's disease, definitely!
Sorry for your loss!

 

[Chicken Girl123]

No,I don't think it's that.She can move the leg on her own,she just doesn't want to put weight on it.And she can wiggle her toes,and there's nothing else(unless wikipedia left something out)that would suggest that.

 

[Chicken Girl123]

She recovered!!!!I imagine the foot is still a TAAAAADDD bit sore,but there is no outward sign of it. YAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!

 

[FlyHigher]

Awesome! So glad to hear this. Nice job!