Chick isn't walking right

[chanamarie]

A chick hatched last night. She zipped, then seemed to get stuck, and couldn't get the shell off. After more than an hour, I used tweezers to help her. The membrane was completely dry where she had zipped and her feathers had dried to it in some places and I had to help her get it off. So far she is the only one (out of 4) to hatch (and I'm starting to worry about the others...). It's nearly 7pm now and she hatched out at 1am and she's still sticky (no yellow goo, but quite dry and crusty- not fluffy).

I just took her out of the incubator and put her in the brooder and she's not walking right. She's not standing on 2 legs, but rather kind of shuffling along. She seems alert and very 'cheepy.'

Anything I can do to help her?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi there

How is your chick doing now as I see you posted over 14 hours ago?

 

[chanamarie]

Hi there

How is your chick doing now as I see you posted over 14 hours ago?

Hi, thanks for responding! She seems better, though the walking still isn't right. It appears that the outer toe of her left foot is curled in a bit. She has now fluffed out, is hobbling around, and cheeping constantly as she's the only one who hatched (this was a very disappointing hatch!). Anything I can do to help that toe?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

You are most welcome and this is a great read on curled toes and other leg issues ~ https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry
You should be able to tape the toe/foot as your chick is so young.

You could also add a mirror and small stuffed toy to the brooder to help eliminate loneliness for your chick. It is such a shame when hatches are poor and you end with lone chicks. Have you thought about trying to find a couple of similar age chicks to keep this one company if no others hatch?

 

[kie4]

1 of my 4 chicks that hatched on the 25th is not walking right, we've tried tying the legs together and looking for slipped ligaments but it looks permanent :-(



She sits down a lot, or leans on the wall of the box for support (on the right).

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

1 of my 4 chicks that hatched on the 25th is not walking right, we've tried tying the legs together and looking for slipped ligaments but it looks permanent :-( She sits down a lot, or leans on the wall of the box for support (on the right).

I'm afraid I had one of those this spring, I tried and tried to fix the problem but it was not to be. I believe it had a slipped tendon and even though I could pull the leg straight and get the tendon back in the right position it would not stay there. It had a difficult hatch and struggled to get out of the egg more than likely due to this leg issue. I took the decision to put it to sleep after the others started bullying it.

 

[kie4]

I'm afraid I had one of those this spring, I tried and tried to fix the problem but it was not to be. I believe it had a slipped tendon and even though I could pull the leg straight and get the tendon back in the right position it would not stay there. It had a difficult hatch and struggled to get out of the egg more than likely due to this leg issue. I took the decision to put it to sleep after the others started bullying it.

That's a sad story and doesn't bode well for our little 5 day old "Hoppy".
The picture you posted is the exact same pose that ours always assumes.
Hoppy hatched 2 days late on day 23, pipped, zipped and hatched in about 30min, so fast.
How old was yours when you put it to sleep @Yorkshire Coop ?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

It is sad yes but I'm afraid all part of incubating and hatching. With all the will in the world not every chick will hatch fully formed and healthy. My little one above was about 3 weeks old when I realised it's time had come. It had been getting around ok but the leg was dragging as it got bigger. I went into the shed one morning and it's leg had started to bleed where it had dragged and the others were ganging up up on it. I knew then that it was just not fair to keep it alive. A bleeding open wound was bound to attract infection and a lot of unwanted attention from other chicks.

 

[chanamarie]

Thanks for the advice. She is now wearing a tiny shoe (not easy to shod a Silkie baby!). Fingers crossed!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Thanks for the advice. She is now wearing a tiny shoe (not easy to shod a Silkie baby!). Fingers crossed!

You are most welcome and I hope it all turns out ok for her

They sure are fiddly little things to get on!