Chick seems to have been born with "club foot"

[chasers80]

This is a first for me. I've got a day old chick that can't use one of its little legs. Its little foot is just clubbed. Has anyone else had this happen? What should I do? Other than the foot, the chick looks great and eats. I just feel bad!

 

[allaboutdemchicks]

I'm the neighborhood vet, or, so all the children in the neighborhood think. This week the boy two doors down came running in the back door with all the other group of kids hollering "Ms. Claudia, Ms. Claudia, can you help this baby??" The leg was not club footed but rather as I watched it I came to the conclusion it was born without a knee cap...or something to allow the leg to bend. Healthy as a horse, I really spent some time watching and thinking about this little leg. The little leg drags behind him, not much help in walking but the little fella gets around. And as days are going by he is getting around better everyday. I think, like in your case, time will tell when what happens as the chicken grows and as the weight of the chicken increases how these chicks will be able to stay mobile. In my own experience, if I have a chick with any type of mobility issues, as they grow the worse they get. I usually begin seeing more problems at about a month old.

Cull?? I think that depends on how YOU feel about a special needs chick/chicken. Some people just don't have the time to deal with this. Some people would let nature take it's course and play the waiting game....but, rest assured, I'd never let him reproduce just because it could be a genetic problem that will pop it's ugly head up later.

Depending on how bad the club foot is, you could try to straighten and somehow brace it on some thin cardboard at these very, very early days of life and see if it straightens out. Band-aids and cardboard, just a thought.

Good luck with the little one.

Claudia

 

[sammi]

a pic would help if you can post one.