Chick with badly twisted leg...suggestions? PICS AND VIDEO

[CheshieChick13]

Was she born like that? Or did she injure it? If she was born like that I would go to a vet or cull her. If she injured it I would either take her to a vet or isolate her in a dog crate to mend. One of my silkies recently injured his leg, but he had no obvious deformity. A week in the hospital crate and som vit c in his food did wonders. He's fine now

Because of the deformity, I doubt it would be this easy without advise from an avian vet.

 

[kickinchicken]

Just because an animal had an injury and it was never reset and "they are doing fine now" doesn't mean its not painful, and its just inhumane to leave the bird like that. If it were a dog, would you leave a twisted leg and hope for the best? Get this poor chicken to an avian vet and they can sedate her and reset her joints. This cannot, and should not, be done by the inexperienced nor without sedation. Birds can stress and have a heart attack and die instantly. I used to hate it when we would get parakeets in for beak trims because they would stress so much. And yes, we did lose a couple from stress.

 

[carolina chicky]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I could stand it no longer so this morning I called every vet in town and after getting a few laughs from vets who didn't treat chickens (they thought I was joking about bringing a chicken to the vet) I have an appointment in the morning. I am going to take her early and try to get her treated. They didn't set me up a formal appointment, it was more like a "umm..bring her in and we will take a look". Anyway, I will be there when the doors open. I have had several dislocated bones myself and I know how it feels. My and my husband have become quite attached to her. I hope they can help. Thanks

 

[ihvpower]

Thank you for making the right decision!

 

[iknowmike]

Looks like she got stepped on and the hip joint is out of socket. Its hard to put back. and it doesn't seem to hurt, but will probably fall to the end of the pecking order.

 

[kickinchicken]

Glad to hear that she is seeing a vet. Hopefully they will take this seriously and help this poor girl. You might want to look around for an avian vet and keep their info on hand for future emergencies. You'd be surprised at how few vets actually know avian medicine.

 

[NaomiSarah]

Do you have an update on this? I just culled a 3 month old chick who dislocated/broke something in her leg, after trying to rehab her indoors. Mine wasn't twisted like yours but I'd still like to know what the vet said! Hope it's going well.

 

[carolina chicky]

The vet examined her and told me that it was dislocated but since she can stand and walk on it it will be okay. He said due to the nature of this dislocation, it would require surgery. (Something about the way chickens joints are put together makes it difficult to put joints back in place without opening her up) He said that odds are that she wouldn't make it through the anesthesia since she is so small. He said that as long as she can walk she will be okay. I asked if she was in pain and he said she wasn't in pain because she has found a way to use the leg that works for her but if I mess with the leg (pull or push on it) it would cause her pain. He also said that he has seen this type of injury before and it wasn't life threatening. I asked if she would be better off if I put her down and he said he didn't see any use in that, but I needed to take special care of her, and "spoil" her (which we already do, lol.)
The main thing was that she can get to food and water and get around pretty good, which she can.
It is hard to watch her like this but as long as I know I did all I can do for her it makes me feel better. I don't want any living thing to suffer, which I made clear to the vet, and he assured me she wasn't suffering. She doesn't yell or tweet loudly unless you mess around with the leg. Otherwise she acts as normal as she can. Of course she can't perch and scratch like the others, but I suppose now I have a sweet little house chicken.
I will do everything in my power to make sure she is safe and comfortable.

 

[kickinchicken]

Looks like its time to invest in some cute chicken diapers!

 

[todtrac]

I have a 9 week old Silkie that has the exact condition. She was born this way. We have been giving it extra attention because of her foot but she does just fine hoping along with the other three silkies. I will say that she isn't getting as big as the others though. It is the most compasionate chicken we have. My only concern is that she cannot navigate the ramp to get into the coop and that I must put her in each night. We call her Forest.

As for your bird, I would let her run with the others, I believe she will be just fine!!

Todtrac