I have a 4 wk. old RIR chick that hatched in my incubator. He seemed fine originally. At about 2 1/2 wks. I noticed that he was kind of holding his left wing out a little and thought it odd. Decided to take him out and put him outside in a private little coop alone (he's the only chick we have right now). The plan was just to leave him there for a few minutes to have some outdoor playtime. Immediately he went a little nutty and started trying to find a way out. He attracted the attention of a couple cats who came and were watching him and, when I ran over, one had a paw in the coop (through the wire) trying to paw at him. I took him back inside and decided we needed to keep him inside a while longer. A couple days after that I noticed that he was no longer standing up on his right leg. Walking on his knee, kind of. I hoped it would feel better after a short time and he would stand up again. Now his right leg won't bear any weight at all and his foot is curled up a little. His leg just slides out from under him. Is there any hope for this little guy? Do you think the cat got a swipe at his leg? Should I try to splint it or anything? Cull him? I don't know.
ETA: Oh, and this chick has always seemed to have problems poo-ing. He has to push really hard and then it just sticks to his butt. His vent stays clean but it's always around his rear. This has been the case since day one. Makes me wonder if, between that and the wing and then the leg he was just not well from the start? Or do you think it's different issues?
ETA: Oh, and this chick has always seemed to have problems poo-ing. He has to push really hard and then it just sticks to his butt. His vent stays clean but it's always around his rear. This has been the case since day one. Makes me wonder if, between that and the wing and then the leg he was just not well from the start? Or do you think it's different issues?
Last edited:
