My little chick is now 48 hrs old - I had to help her hatch due to the fact that she was so weak and I noticed a lot of extra fluid in the shell - I think she almost drowned (Unfortunately six of her other hatchmates did drown after pipping internally - somehow she found the extra strength to break the outer shell but still couldn't get out). I dried her off a bit even had to dry her mouth out (she was extremely wet and had fluid running out of the sides of her beak and was gasping for breath.) I also noticed that her abdomen where the yolk is absorbed was really large but it has since gone to normal size. I let her dry out and thought she was going to be fine. But it's like her legs are still cramped in the shell. She can move her toes so I know she is not paralyzed, but her hocks seem to be permanently bent and she is trying to walk on them - creating more of a scooting movement and rolling over on her back a lot. She does this on ANY surface - not just slick ones. I read somewhere on one of the forums that it could possibly straighten out by themselves and in another place that I should put her in a teacup or similar shaped/sized container so she can gain strength in her legs - I tried that after she had been this way for 24 hrs with no improvement - BUT she just pulls herself out of the cup with her feet. I even tried the bandaid trick for splayed legs - but she walks on the hocks - and holds her feet up under her wings with the bandaid hobble on. I tried to gently message her into straightening the hocks but the will not budge - and I'm afrain I will break her legs with too much force. Everything else is normal - she will eat and drink and has normal poops. I took video of her movement - currently waiting for it to upload on youtube will post ASAP. Can anyone help??
