Chick with broken/sprained/slipped tendon needs help

[BROOD]

Hello fellow brooders
Recently purchased a mixed batch of chicks from meyers hatchery. Before I go too far MH is amazing. I got 2 buff brahmas, 2 dark brahmas, an easter egger, a golden wyandotte, and a golden buff. All that is beside the point but this is what I saw when I got them home.
https://imgur.com/pFto2rX.mp4
A beautiful sight! But check out my little one on the bottom right.. she hops rather than walks. My excitement was so high I did not even notice. Plus look at her go. A true peg legged pirate. My brooder was prepared, so I transferred them and let them be for a half hour before giving them a once over cuddle session. To my dismay that's when I found that one of my dark brahmas had arrived with a leg injury. Savvy as I am online I scoured the internet for forum threads, articles and videos explaining just about every leg injury chicks can succumb to as well as DIY fixes, etc etc. I got just enough book smarts to make the streets dangerous.

Unfortunately I did not take photos of her leg then. She was tucking it and hopping around like quite a trooper. However I know what can happen with chickens so I pulled a heat lamp from storage, fashioned a cardboard box to hold the lamp and made a secondary brooder that I've been keeping inside my house. Once I had her separated I immediately, and ignorantly, suspected that her foot was the problem. I fashioned a shoe and taped it to her toes. She suffered with that shoe for a little over 12 hours. The next day I inspected the leg and spent an entire day researching. I removed the shoe, and again ignorantly, fashioned a hobble with a hair tie and a straw. I'm cringing imagining the pain it put her through. That stayed on for another 12 or so hours. By the time I took that off I had come to the conclusion that it was probably perosis and that she was not going to make it. However her leg was tucked straight up, not to one side or the other like countless reference images I have found of perosis. And while probing her achilles tendon, found that it does feel in place and does not snap to either side. Still though I concluded she had perosis based solely on some minor swelling at the hock joint. There's no movement in the toes, or leg. Some minor quivering but I suspect that's from her heartbeat/breathing. The foot has circulation. But it's clear something is impeding movement. Stretching it past ~40% extension causes pain. Also at this point my affection for this one is substantial. Whether it was her stubbornness to battle through my ignorant attempts to help her or just her cuteness idk.. probably both. I decided to take the chance and spend the money to see a vet.

The vet concluded her leg was broke. Which would've been a relief if he made me feel confident in his prognosis. He was obviously out of his league with my visit but he too thought the tendon was in place. I asked if there was a way to splint the leg, and he laughed... k not kidding! Apparently there was a woman there who regularly works on birds... k wish I was seeing her right now! He took my little girl to her, they sedated her and fashioned a splint from a straw and some tape. No padding at all. He told me to remove it in a week and if shes still not able to apply weight to the leg to make a new one, taking into account her new dimensions after growth, and try for one more week. He gave me some oral pain/inflammatory medicine and a plastic syringe and 85 dollars later I was on my way home. Once I got home I just knew she was going to have a terrible time getting around with her leg in a cast made of a straw so I made a chick chair for her. This is also when I came up with her name, Peggy. I DID take a photo of that.

She's a wild one and after an unfortunate fall from the sling, one where her injured leg got caught in the sock, (AHHHHH) figured out she would not willingly stay in it. So I also got a headband, cut a hole for her little head and strapped her in. Don't worry it's actually pretty loose on her. Here's the underside.

At this point I'm thinking ok. She's going to be fine. She's still eating and drinking. Shes still very vocal. I'll leave her in the sling for 24 hours before giving her a rest and hopefully the leg will look better. Well today I removed her and inspected the leg. That's when I realized the splint was made too long. And her ankle was now swollen! I trimmed the splint so that it was not in the way of her rear toe, bless her little heart, and held her up around her brood box so she could experience finding interesting chunks of pine shavings like her sisters and pump some blood to her good leg. I did this twice today. In between physical therapy sessions I caged her off and let her sisters frolic around in the box with her while she was in her sling. I called the vet back today and they only had a cat/dog person in. They were supposed to contact a few of their avian staff and get back to me but never did so.. that's cool. The past two nights have been hard. She starts crying, I come to comfort her, lightly use my index and thumb and stroke behind her ears and she falls back asleep. That happens about once an hour or so. I'm frustrated because I know I've already made mistakes that probably hurt her worse and the vet was of very little assistance. I'm also worried about a swollen area on her chest in front of the hurt leg. I'm not sure what it is, it doesn't seem to be painful to her as I probe it as she doesn't cry when it's massaged. It may be nothing.??

I do have some questions though:
-If it's broke/sprained. Should I be removing her from the sling at all right now? Or should I force her to heal without moving. I'm worried about atrophy.
-If it's broke/sprained. Is this splint suitable? I've seen other splints made from q-tips and tape, others from gauze and tape. This one seems like it could cut her. And there's no way for me to tell without removing it which I would think I would not want to do.
-I really just want someone who has experienced this to tell me what I should do, how long I should do it for, and what I should expect to see as far as results go.

Thanks everyone, Peggy thanks you as well.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about your chick. It's very hard to know if she is suffering from Slipped Tendon, a break or possibly a leg bone deformity. It sounds like you have been doing what you can for her. You may find the splinting manuals linked below helpful.
I would also get some B-vitamins into her, especially B2(Riboflavin). You can use human B-Complex, 1/4 tablet daily crushed up and put into her food.

Leg issues can be hard to correct and heal. The swelling ankle and hock joint are definitely concerning.
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf
http://www.starlingtalk.com/fractures.htm

 

[Eggcessive]

It is very frustrating to deal with a leg problem. It can be hard to tell the exact problem. Vet wrap cut into strips can be good to splint, and it can be removed every day to examine the leg and adjust it for growing, which they seem to do right before your eyes. I have seen pictures of a figure 8 splint out of tape above and below the hock joint to give the leg support. I have not personally dealt with a slipped tendon or broken bone. Sometimes it helps to see a picture of how they stand with the leg, to determine whatbis wrong. Many of these chicks end up being put down or starve if they cannot get to food and water. Some can get around on their own with their disability.

I think if there is swelling, then the splint may need adjusting or removed. Chicks have very tender skin and it can break down and blister easily.
Here is a good thread about a peachick with a slipped tendon that has pictures of splints:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/peachick-with-slipped-tendon.1092979/

 

[casportpony]

This is how a vet splinted a slipped tendon:

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not an expert on leg problems and I have not dealt with this. But I would leave the splint off tonight, and let her sleep on the floor and let her move around on her own. That should allow the swelling to go down some by tomorrow. Vet wrap is also called cohesive bandage. Vet wrap is sold at farm stores, and cohesive bandage is sold in Walmart and in drug stores in the first aid supplies. It can be cut into 1 inch strips, but it comes in wider rolls. Vet wrap can become tight easily, so it shouldn’t wrapped too tightly. I would tend to just support the leg with a little tape above and below the joint with the leg bent in a normal position, such as below, and if her leg is still swollen, perhaps leave the splint off. The chick chair is mainly for daytime to get her in front of food and water. Then let her out for periods of rest. Sorry this is so frustrating. You may want to look up some other articles about treating slipped tendons. If it is a leg bone deformity, there may not be any helping it, and it might be best to try and let her get around with her disability and see how she does.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can wet her feed—that is a good way to get water into the chick. Just make it fresh a couple of times a day. Are you giving her some vitamins with riboflavin and other B vitamins? That is really good to do. Poultry Cell has all of the ones she needs.

We really do not know exactly what her leg problem is. They can have bone deformities, a dislocated hip, a slipped tendon, or a twisted leg. She may have sprained or broken her leg as well. They grow so fast at this age that the legs size can double in a few days.

Keep in mind that most chicks with leg problems do not survive, or need to be put down. It is very hard to do this for everyone, but sometimes necessary to keep the chicks from suffering. We have had posts from owners who were surgeons who have even tried surgery on their own chicks, who still eventually had to euthanise them. I wish we had a better way to help you. Here are a few articles to read:
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/leg-health-in-large-broilers

https://www.chickenheavenonearth.co...u-can-do-to-help-chicken-heaven-on-earth.html

https://www.thedodo.com/chick-was-going-to-be-put-down-1725275897.html

 

[WVduckchick]

I hope you got some info from the vet. And whatever you decide, I think its hard to know what will help and what will hurt, but you are in the best position to make that determination.

I'm not saying you should do this, unless you think its worth a shot..... it has worked for a few chicks:

Here's what I would try if it were mine. Hold your left hand out, palm up, fingers toward the right, in front of your chest. Lay the chick's belly in your left hand, feet pointing back toward your body, overhanging your pinky finger/palm. Grasp the feet and legs between your right thumb and forefinger. Slowly lower your left hand (kinda bowling ball or lawn-dart starting motion) and let the bird dangle for just a few seconds. Twist your wrist outward, and the bird's reaction should be to lift its head/chest/body upward toward your hand. (keep your hand under, but not touching, and don't drop her! lol) When it does, you can re-grab the body. This will sometimes "reset" a slipped hip or knee joint. It won't hurt the bird, and I would think its worth a try.

 

[BROOD]

I'm not saying you should do this, unless you think its worth a shot..:

Thank you for that suggestion I will give it a shot if I see her improvements slow or reverse. At this point I'm putting her in her chair for about 6 hours a day. The rest of the time I let her rough it on pine shavings. No sling. With her sister. When she's totally exhausted I remove her sister and let her rest. Today it was 95 degrees out so after cleaning her box I took her outside and let her sit in her chair so she was able to see her sisters and be seen by her sisters in the brooder. She was visibly so much happier out there with them. (Usually she struggles to get out of her chair, crying.) I left her out there with her wet feed, which she absolutely loves, and when I had time took her and the other six chicks out to play in the grass together. She wasn't super mobile but at least she had a taste of the spice of life outside the cardboard box. She was upright on both feet for about ten minutes before she was full time laying down. Pretty exciting! Definitely still looks painful for her, here's a video of her after I brought all of them in from the yard.
https://imgur.com/3r33OTw.mp4

I never did get a call back from the vet. I called in again yesterday and the bird doctor had just left. Was supposed to get a call back today. At this point I'm so over that clinic. I won't be spending any more money there.

She only really eats when I wet her feed and hold her with her hurt leg dangling. Occasionally she'll hobble over to the food dish and pick up a single piece of feed. She might take one or two drinks of water from a reservoir per day, from her chair only, she want's nothing to do with the DIY water dish. She's much more into drinking drops from a syringe or getting her water from her feed..

Guess it's just a waiting game at this point.

 

[BROOD]

Thanks. I've been giving all of them a vitamin and probiotic supplement in their water since I got them. I'll spend tonight reading what you've posted and see if I can implement some of it's advice.

Yes I'm not really sure why the ankle has started to swell. Especially after giving her meloxicam for the inflammation. I suspect the splint but that's really because that's all that's changed.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Should I re-splint bent or straight?

I don't know!
Let's get a few others in here. I'm sure @Eggcessive will be around in a while.
@WVduckchick @casportpony ?

Just a tip for stuck on tape, you can try mineral or baby oil to help dissolve the glue.