Chick with badly twisted leg WARNING *Picture Heavy!

[DylansMom]

My 3 1/2 week old chick was fine when I checked on them this afternoon, this evening ahead walking with a twisted leg. When she stand still and puts weight on it it just twist untilher toes are behind her.. any suggestions? I don't believe it's spraddle leg as I tried binding her and bracing between the feet under the knee, and it still twisted behind her.

Twisted tibia does not occur "all of a sudden", it takes time for the bone to become twisted and unless it is possible that he has been getting worse for several days and you just didn't see it until now, it isn't twisted tibia. If it occurred between afternoon and evening of the same day, it has to be a slipped tendon. I noticed mine when the feet were rotated out to about 1:00 or 2:00. I didn't see it until then because I had them in a shorter pen where I was looking down on them from above and couldn't really see their legs. Once I transferred them from that cage into a taller one where I was looking at them straight on I could see it in 5 of my 8 chicks aged 31/2 to 51/2 weeks. Legs were taped together in the correct position( with padding between them )between dusk and dawn for 4 weeks.

 

[brittbritt21]

Hi @dandkadams , I can't tell from the photos exactly what is going on. There are three possibilities, and each one is different and needs different treatment.

Given the age of the chick, it could easily be either a splayed leg or a slipped tendon.

Look at this picture:



In this photo, you are looking at the back of the hock joint (the chick is lying face down, with its leg extended backwards -- see the bottom of the foot? The tendon that slips is the one that runs across the back of the hock joint (next to the human finger in the photo). In this photo, the tendon is in place in the groove, but there is a slight amount of swelling. (The tendon has been popped back in already.) If the tendon were out of place (slipped), the tendon (it's like a cord under the skin) would be displaced to the left -- the inside of the leg -- away from the finger tip. It actually slips out of the groove and can be felt under the skin if you feel the back of the hock joint. With the chick in this position, you can "pop" it sideways and back into place. (The trick is getting it to stay there.)

If the tendon is out of place (a slipped tendon), the chick may have the foot facing forward, but can't flex or extend the leg properly, and the leg won't support any weight. It's like a hinge with no resistance, the hock just closes up, but the chick can't make it extend.

A splayed leg is different. The hock tendon is still in place (maybe -- I just had a chick which splayed after the tendon slipped out, ouch) but the leg is rotated up in the joint ABOVE the hock, not at the hock joint itself. The leg may splay out to the side and will not stay in place when the chick tries to stand on it. A splayed leg is treated with a hobble to keep the leg from flopping outwards. The problem is more up in the hip rather than at the hock. The tendon still runs properly along the back of the hock in the groove, it's not displaced.

The third problem, twisted tibia, tends (I think) to occur in slightly older birds, at least in peafowl and turkeys. In twisted tibia, the bone itself twists and the leg rotates so that the toes of the foot no longer point forward. Typically the toes start going out to the outside, and over time, turn farther and farther off center, until the toes may even be pointing backwards rather than forwards. When you look at the bird's feet, the center toes should point forward, twelve noon if the bird were at the center of a clock dial. If one of the bird's center toes is turned to another number, then the leg may be twisted (or splayed) -- the difference is whether the bone itself is rotating, or whether the joint is not properly stable (splayed).

There is a fairly lengthy treatment which sometimes works in twisted tibia birds, but I just don't think it's too likely in this bird, as young as it is.

So the first thing you need to do is figure out whether it is SPLAYED LEG or SLIPPED TENDON. Turn it face down, put the leg behind it and check the hock joint. Take a photo from that angle. Check whether the hock joint is operating correctly or if it is collapsed. In the photos that you already posted, I'm kinda thinking it looks splayed rather than slipped, but I just can't tell from the ones that are on here.

I learned a better wrapping technique at the vet yesterday -- worked better than the splint that I tried a few days ago. I'll try to post photos tomorrow. Meantime, the podiatry page is good info.

Good luck!

I have read your post and you seem to know this stuff very well. I have a chick I’m currently not sure of what to do because I’m having a similar problem. The chicks left leg/foot is stretched back with a slight turn. And that leg doesn’t get bent or moved much. And it’s like the chicks constantly trying to move it but can’t.

Hi @dandkadams , I can't tell from the photos exactly what is going on. There are three possibilities, and each one is different and needs different treatment.

Given the age of the chick, it could easily be either a splayed leg or a slipped tendon.

Look at this picture:



In this photo, you are looking at the back of the hock joint (the chick is lying face down, with its leg extended backwards -- see the bottom of the foot? The tendon that slips is the one that runs across the back of the hock joint (next to the human finger in the photo). In this photo, the tendon is in place in the groove, but there is a slight amount of swelling. (The tendon has been popped back in already.) If the tendon were out of place (slipped), the tendon (it's like a cord under the skin) would be displaced to the left -- the inside of the leg -- away from the finger tip. It actually slips out of the groove and can be felt under the skin if you feel the back of the hock joint. With the chick in this position, you can "pop" it sideways and back into place. (The trick is getting it to stay there.)

If the tendon is out of place (a slipped tendon), the chick may have the foot facing forward, but can't flex or extend the leg properly, and the leg won't support any weight. It's like a hinge with no resistance, the hock just closes up, but the chick can't make it extend.

A splayed leg is different. The hock tendon is still in place (maybe -- I just had a chick which splayed after the tendon slipped out, ouch) but the leg is rotated up in the joint ABOVE the hock, not at the hock joint itself. The leg may splay out to the side and will not stay in place when the chick tries to stand on it. A splayed leg is treated with a hobble to keep the leg from flopping outwards. The problem is more up in the hip rather than at the hock. The tendon still runs properly along the back of the hock in the groove, it's not displaced.

The third problem, twisted tibia, tends (I think) to occur in slightly older birds, at least in peafowl and turkeys. In twisted tibia, the bone itself twists and the leg rotates so that the toes of the foot no longer point forward. Typically the toes start going out to the outside, and over time, turn farther and farther off center, until the toes may even be pointing backwards rather than forwards. When you look at the bird's feet, the center toes should point forward, twelve noon if the bird were at the center of a clock dial. If one of the bird's center toes is turned to another number, then the leg may be twisted (or splayed) -- the difference is whether the bone itself is rotating, or whether the joint is not properly stable (splayed).

There is a fairly lengthy treatment which sometimes works in twisted tibia birds, but I just don't think it's too likely in this bird, as young as it is.

So the first thing you need to do is figure out whether it is SPLAYED LEG or SLIPPED TENDON. Turn it face down, put the leg behind it and check the hock joint. Take a photo from that angle. Check whether the hock joint is operating correctly or if it is collapsed. In the photos that you already posted, I'm kinda thinking it looks splayed rather than slipped, but I just can't tell from the ones that are on here.

I learned a better wrapping technique at the vet yesterday -- worked better than the splint that I tried a few days ago. I'll try to post photos tomorrow. Meantime, the podiatry page is good info.

Good luck!

You seem like you have a lot of experience. I’ve been trying to find help for a similar problem I’m having. My chicks leg is stretched back and has a slight twist. The chick is not able to use it. It tries to move it but seems bothered that it can’t. The other leg is absolutely fine. Was told it could be splayed leg because the day it hatched it was doing the splits. The hobble helped one leg a little but the other only got worse