chick not eating or drinking, help!

[ChickRaiserRN]

One of our chicks has a curled in foot and the other leg extends out behind him constantly. I put the little band-aid boots on him and that has helped, but not sure what to do with the leg. Anyway, I have never seen him eating or drinking (we have him separated from the other chicks with his own food & water). I have been trying to go out there every couple of hours and dip his beak in the water & food. He will drink and eat when I do this, but it's not much. I don't necessarily think he's lethargic, but bc of his deformities, he can't walk well at all. Any advice?? He's 2 days old, btw. And we have him separated b/c the other chicks (2 days older) were pecking him when we introduced him into the brooder. ((I know this is probably just nature's way of saying he's too weak, but I've become very attached to him now, and I want to give him the best possible chance.)) Thanks in advance! I'll try to get a picture of his leg, too.

 

[pizzicarella]

One of my chicks has a curled foot too - I have found this site, which has some info. I'm guessing that the leg going the wrong way is what's mentioned here, and it sounds a lot like hip dysplasia in babies (which is fixed with a funky harness

)
.
As for not eating and drinking - what are you trying to feed him?

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

chick starter and water, thanks for the site!

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

Thank you again for the site, I'm def going to try those suggestions!!!

 

[pizzicarella]

I haven't much experience at all with chicks yet, so perhaps wait for some more experienced people to comment on food. Mashed-up boiled egg is pretty popular with the 10 day olds though.

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

Thanks

 

[DinosaurChicken]

If s/he has a curled up foot it might be splayed leg.

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

Hubby is on his way to the store to buy some coban (or Vet Wrap) so we can make him up a "cast". Hopefully fixing his leg and foot will help him ambulate & in turn help him eat. Thank you!

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

When I took the bandaid booties off, his feet looked much better. I tried putting new ones on him, but he wasn't able to get around at all, so I took them off. I put the thingy around his legs to hold them together, but his leg doesn't go out to the side, it sprawls out behind him, so now both of his legs go behind him when he's resting. He can't keep them under him. I'm at a loss as to what to do about that. I fed him sugar water with some chick starter diluted in it with a syringe and he did really well. I'm hoping that a few days of feeding him will get him strong, and his legs will correct on their own, or he'll at least be able to walk.

 

[donrae]

Baby chicks really don't need to eat or drink the first 48 hours after hatch. They absorb that entire yolk just before hatch, they're designed that way so momma could stay on the nest a few more days to let stragglers hatch also. So, not eating or drinking at 2 days, not so big a deal.