Chick has fused toes! Help!

[LaBaze]

Well I got two new chicks today and one of them I got cause he's crippled with two fused toes! What do I do? He has trouble keeping balance but can get to food and water.

 

[purpletree23]

How thick is the membrane between the two toes? Can you see light through it or are the toes really close? Can you post a picture?

If the skin is thinner than thin I would hold the chick up to the light and examine the foot really well to make sure I didn't see any blood vessels running through it. Make sure you have powered blood stop and a scalpel or razor that has been dipped in alcohol for at least a minute and then dried off. Put a little alcohol on the chicks foot and dry off. If it's not dried well the blood might not clot well if there is any alcohol left.

Cut the membrane. It might not even bleed. If it does apply a little sprinkle blood with a Q tip. Watch the chick so it doesn't eat any. You can give him his own part of the brooder for tonight to make sure no one picks on him and he should be able to go back with his budds tomorrow. Give him a rolled up sock or very small stuffed animal to cuddle with tonight.

If the above is too intense a vet should be able to do this for very little cost.

Let me know how it turned out.

 

[sourland]

Rather than a scalpel, a pair of dull scissors might cause less bleeding. Simply cut the webbing to relieve the constrictions.

 

[LaBaze]

I think that there is more than just the fused toes wrong with him. He seems to be more and more paralyzed every hour I went to see him. Now he just can't move at all and I just know he won't make it through the night.

 

[Miss Lydia]

so sorry sometimes it's for the best.

 

[Crack N' Egg]

I hope your little guy makes it through the night.

Keep us posted. I'm sending well wishes!

 

[purpletree23]

I'm so sorry to hear that. So many things can go wrong with chicks and there is nothing we can do. It's so infuriating.

Make him comfortable and hopefully he passes in his sleep.

 

[LaBaze]

I got him comfortable, before I went inside for the night I dipped his beak in water to drink then put him on a nice bed of hay. I feel bad for him and I wish I knew whats making him not able to move. I don't know what caused the paralysis. I got him from the feed store by our house, I was looking to see if they had any silkie chicks and I saw a possible silkie and then I saw him and how he had fused toes, and I just couldn't leave a crippled chick there so I got him and the other. I only had to pay for the healthy one because they said the crippled one probably wouldn't make it. It's weird cause he was walking this morning when I got him, he had trouble balancing but he could walk. Between the time we got him and tonight he went from walking to almost completely paralyzed. Does anyone know what couldve caused that?

 

[purpletree23]

It could have been a defect he was born with. Marek's disease causes paralysis of legs and wings and affects chicks. Find out from the feed store if the chicks were vaccinates for Marek's at the hatchery. If they were given the vaccine maybe it didn't have time to take affect. If they we not vaccinated it could be Marek's.

You and he were brought together for a reason. You were meant to care for him during his short time on earth.

I hope he sleeps peacefully and take care of yourself.

 

[LaBaze]

Just went outside to check on him and ahh...... He didn't make it.