Chick not putting foot down

[Kathyb2]

I am a newbie to hatching eggs. A couple of days ago, my first batch hatched in the incubator. One of the babies hops on one foot. The other foot is held up in the air (tilted). She is eating/drinking and seems in good health otherwise. Is there anything I can do to help her?

 

[Judy]

Splint it out straight with vet wrap, maybe?

 

[kittyacid]

Could it be a slipped tendon? This is my experience with a new chick that was shipped from MPC. She held the foot up and could not walk on it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=201834

 

[hennypennysmom]

We had a baby chick that did the exact same thing. We separated it from the others (who seemed to be picking on her), by cutting out & taping a small square out of a box - it was within the brooder (under the light). Just make sure the baby has access to it's own food and water dish. We used doll dishes for this.....and the water we just put marbles in. This seemed to give the chick a chance to rest, eat and drink undisturbed for a day or so. The other chicks figured out how to get INTO our little hospital room, but that didn't seem to bother the injured one - they kept her company!

After about 24hrs, SHE jumped OUT of the box and was putting a bit of weight on that foot. We figured that she might have gotten her foot stuck on something and hurt it. It was a full week before she looked back to normal, but now she's totally recovered.

A very wise chicken person told us that she needed time and sleep.

Oh - and we put a few drops of PolyViSol (without iron) into the water - got that at CVS (baby vitamins) - read about that here.

Good luck with your baby. Our is now almost 6 weeks old and is one of the sweetest chicks we have....

** We did try the bandaid/splint thing - but she's a feather leg, so it didn't really work, plus it made her very upset!

 

[sc chicken]

My son picked up our new baby chick and tossed her in the air to see if she would fly...
We thought the chick had broken her leg, but after about a week, she was putting weight on it. In a few days later- she was running around with the rest of them. I'm guessing she sprained it?
Needless to say- my son was mortified and learned a good lesson- until the next time-