Chick with bad leg

ImLindseyP

Hatching
7 Years
May 30, 2012
3
0
7
700

I have a two day old chick with a leg problem. I'm not sure if it hatched this way or was injured somehow. It's leg is stuck straight, no bending at the joint. It can get around by flapping its wings and dragging the foot. The leg usually rests pointing straight forward when it lays down, but drags behind when it "walks". The front of the foot is getting raw from being drug on the ground. I'm trying to decide if it needs to be put down. It does manage to keep with the mom and other chicks, but now with the raw spot on the foot I don't know what to do. I'm not that experienced with chickens, any advice would be appreciated.
 
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I had a chick with splay leg. She would hardly be able to stand at all. One leg would go to the front and one to the back. She did not have a seriously curling foot, but got around even less than what it sounds like your chick is experiencing. I fixed her legs by taking an elastic hair tie (ponytail holder) the kind with no metal piece and taping it together in the middle so it made a little device with a hole on each end. I would put a foot in each end so that her legs were tied together and could not slip apart. I also kept her with me 24/7 and regularly made her practice walking while I fixed any curling of the toes. I would also make her stand on a hard surface while I put a finger on her toes holding her feet flat so that she could gain strength in a normal standing position. It is like you have to train the muscles to do what they should be doing. The hair tie was soft enough that it didn't hurt her skin or anything. Within one week she was able to walk with the sling on all by herself. In two weeks she was a totally normal chick. She is now one year old and you would never be able to tell she had such a difficult start to life! This was also my very first chicken experience lol. Get creative, you know her needs better than anyone. Chickens are shockingly resilient.
 

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