chick leg problems- doesn't look like spraddle leg

[spacechicks]

Hi everyone
I hope this hasn't been covered before, I haven't quite found the answer I'm looking for in searching the forum....

I have a baby silkie, 8 days old, who had a really rough hatch. It seems as if a blood vessel broke in the shell because the membrane was brown and she was stuck to it. I don't think she would have gotten out of the egg without intervention. Well here we are 1 week later and she's still around . She will survive almost certainly, she hobbles around quickly and doesn't seem in pain. She is eating well too.

It is almost definite that she had some vitamin deficiency. When she came our all her toes were curled and she cried constantly. It wasn't until about 2 days ago that she started to really eat a lot and stopped crying. We put some little shoes on her the 1st day she was born and her feet are a lot better (believe it or not- see current pics below). Before the shoes, the outer tow on each foot was actually under the foot and she would walk on it, unfortunately I didn't take close up pics then. Also all her toes were completely curled similar to the middle toe on the right foot now.

Right foot:

Left foot:



So there are a few problems remaining:
1. One of her the toes on her right foot is still really crooked, shouldn't be too hard to fix, not main issue.
2. The back toes on both feet do not exactly point back, they kind of point to the side. I think this causes her a lot of problems balancing. And may the be cause of problem 3.
3. When she stands and walks she holds one leg in front and one behind.

Standing up:





I've seen the poultry podiatry pages (That's how I made the chick shoes) and I've seen the pages on spraddle/splayed leg. I don't think the treatment for spraddle/splayed leg will work because the legs are not pointing to the sides. I do think the posture problem is worth fixing.

**Any creative types out there with a suggestion for how to fix either her back toes or her standing.walking issues??**

thanks for any advice!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://blog.mypetchicken.com/2012/02/29/crooked-toes/

http://poultrykeeper.com/skeletal-and-muscular-disorders/crooked-toes

I am not sure if this was incubation temps or vitamin deficiency...but it wouldn't hurt to make sure you are offering vitamins (esp. riboflavin).

 

[Eggcessive]

I would second the opinion on vitamins, especially B2 or riboflavin. Poultry vitamins in the water or PolyViso without iron 2 drops a day would work. Do you think she could have a slipped tendon? There is a lot written about it in Poultry Pedia Podiatry Page. That is when a leg is turned outward.

 

[spacechicks]

Thanks for the advice!

I am starting her on the poly-vi-sol today. I examined her leg for a slipped tendon and I didn't feel anything that I thought would suggest it, but it does seem like that one leg is rotated. One of the members of my local backyard chicken group suggests that it is in fact splayed leg and that she is rotating the front leg to compensate for it being splayed. I had not seen a splayed leg case where the legs were held front/back but I can imagine this could be.

It's the front leg that i think is abnormal/splayed. If I try to hold this leg back next to the other leg, she actually seems ok... but how i would maintain that position (similar to the treatment for side to side splayed leg) is beyond me.

I had convinced myself that it was the fact that her back toes aren't touching the ground that was causing the majority of the problems, but now I see there are a lot of things it could be. I'll experiment a bit more (carefully) but since she can walk and isn't crying I suppose a treatment (other than the vitamins) isn't imperative(?).


for how long do you continue the vitamins?

thanks again!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thanks for the advice!

I am starting her on the poly-vi-sol today. I examined her leg for a slipped tendon and I didn't feel anything that I thought would suggest it, but it does seem like that one leg is rotated. One of the members of my local backyard chicken group suggests that it is in fact splayed leg and that she is rotating the front leg to compensate for it being splayed. I had not seen a splayed leg case where the legs were held front/back but I can imagine this could be.

It's the front leg that i think is abnormal/splayed. If I try to hold this leg back next to the other leg, she actually seems ok... but how i would maintain that position (similar to the treatment for side to side splayed leg) is beyond me.

I had convinced myself that it was the fact that her back toes aren't touching the ground that was causing the majority of the problems, but now I see there are a lot of things it could be. I'll experiment a bit more (carefully) but since she can walk and isn't crying I suppose a treatment (other than the vitamins) isn't imperative(?).


for how long do you continue the vitamins?

thanks again!!

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html
look under riboflavin if desired

I hope this helps.

 

[Eggcessive]

Apparently a slipped tendon is difficult to cure, and the longer it goes on, the more difficult. It looks a lot like it from the pictures. I would go back to this link and try the fix: https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry If your friend thinks it is spraddle leg you can try the bandaid hobble, but either one needs to be done before more time goes by. Good luck.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Apparently a slipped tendon is difficult to cure, and the longer it goes on, the more difficult. It looks a lot like it from the pictures. I would go back to this link and try the fix: https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry If your friend thinks it is spraddle leg you can try the bandaid hobble, but either one needs to be done before more time goes by. Good luck.

Since Eggcessive mentions perosis here are some more links:

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/mineral_deficiencies_in_poultry.html
manganese
perosis



Here is a pic of perosis:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/220/slipped-tendon-perosis

 

[WhiteLeghorn2]

I do not have any advice, but I wish you the best of luck! She is adorable!

 

[spacechicks]

Well it seems like things have taken a turn for the worse. I don't really understand... she was doing so well...


I haven't really seen her eating/drinking since I got home (~5 hours ago) and haven't noticed her pooping either. she was having a terrible time getting around and so i put another shoe on her since that seemed to help her before. she is definitely much weaker. now she just kind of stumbles around and falls frequently. Before if you held her she would stand up. now she just kind of sits on your hand. also she seems to be trembling, which I had not noticed before. I did give her 2 drops of poly-vi-sol a few hours ago. she really didn't want it, but i'm not sure if she doesn't like it or if she just doesn't want to eat today.

before she started eating (like 5 days ago) I was giving her pedialyte from a syringe and she seemed to love it. she would drink it happily and stretch her neck out to reach the syringe. today she won't take it at all... and she is crying A LOT. I'm going to put some hard boiled egg in their box and hope she eats it.

Should I make a chicken sling and separate her? There is just one other chick and they seem to love each other. The little one tries to follow the big one around and when she gets cold she burrows under the big one.

poor little thing. I have no idea what went wrong! I'm not sure if the leg problem is the main worry anymore.

 

[ten chicks]

Well it seems like things have taken a turn for the worse. I don't really understand... she was doing so well...


I haven't really seen her eating/drinking since I got home (~5 hours ago) and haven't noticed her pooping either. she was having a terrible time getting around and so i put another shoe on her since that seemed to help her before. she is definitely much weaker. now she just kind of stumbles around and falls frequently. Before if you held her she would stand up. now she just kind of sits on your hand. also she seems to be trembling, which I had not noticed before. I did give her 2 drops of poly-vi-sol a few hours ago. she really didn't want it, but i'm not sure if she doesn't like it or if she just doesn't want to eat today.

before she started eating (like 5 days ago) I was giving her pedialyte from a syringe and she seemed to love it. she would drink it happily and stretch her neck out to reach the syringe. today she won't take it at all... and she is crying A LOT. I'm going to put some hard boiled egg in their box and hope she eats it.

Should I make a chicken sling and separate her? There is just one other chick and they seem to love each other. The little one tries to follow the big one around and when she gets cold she burrows under the big one.

poor little thing. I have no idea what went wrong! I'm not sure if the leg problem is the main worry anymore.

Make sure she is kept warm. Have you tried mixing warm water with her feed(so it resembles oatmeal)my silkie chicks loved this and it is easier for the frail ones eat. Keep her with the other chick,she needs the warmth and company. I would try and get her to eat and drink before trying any different techniques for her feet. Something is wrong,try and stabilize her first.

Any indication of pasty butt? Is she eating anything other than chick feed,if she is then she needs grit.