Chick with broken/sprained/slipped tendon needs help

[casportpony]

 

[BROOD]

So that's about a 95*-100* angle you think?

 

[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.

 

[GiggleOinkQuack]

How is she today?

 

[BROOD]

How is she today?

Look at the difference at the position of her femurs left and right. The good hip/femur joint relaxes almost down to the bad legs hock joint... I don't understand what that is..

I've removed her splint and I'm letting her struggle through the night without the sling tonight. She looks rather pitiful, just laying there peeping, though she's no longer crying. I'm not surprised after two straight days in the chair. I think her food and water intake has dropped since removing her from the chair. I support her while holding her in front of the food and water and she seems very uninterested. For some reason dropping a drip of water on the feed makes it more interesting to her. But she has me worried. I come by every two hours or so to stand her up and get her to use her legs, she freaks out, hops a bit and then lies down. When she wants to move though she hops into the heat and out quickly... How is she? Idk I'd say bad..

 

[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

 

[BROOD]

Yeah I don't know, I'm beginning to lose hope with her loss of appetite.. I've put her back into her sling, and she's ate quite a bit so far. But 0 water. I just don't understand why she has no use of her leg. The tendon runs right up the back of the hock joint. I've probed up and down her entire leg and the hock joint is the only sensitive area. Her toes in the bad leg are now obviously atrophied.
I don't understand why she's not drinking water. I would think loss of appetite would be attributed to an infection, but even though the hock joint is swollen it's no longer dark red. It's pinkish/whiteish.
I also don't understand why one leg appears so much longer, its as if her hips were at some freakish angle.. pushing her good leg down and her bad leg up. Could pain do that? I stayed up all night with her last night, coming back to her periodically to hopefully see her drink. My goal for sleep was to see that and it never happened so here I am.

 

[Mandyweaver]

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/

Vet wrap did the trick for mine (slipped tendon) i let her learn to walk with that. its less scary than elastic bands for circulation. within a week she was walking next to normal. now 5 months old she gets around just fine. I never had the experience of a broken leg though.

 

[WVduckchick]

Does the leg bend correctly with your help? It kinda looks like a hip joint issue from the pics. How does she hold the leg when not in the sling? Out to the side, folded under, straight out behind? Does she move it at all on her own?

 

[Mandyweaver]

Yeah I don't know, I'm beginning to lose hope with her loss of appetite.. I've put her back into her sling, and she's ate quite a bit so far. But 0 water. I just don't understand why she has no use of her leg. The tendon runs right up the back of the hock joint. I've probed up and down her entire leg and the hock joint is the only sensitive area. Her toes in the bad leg are now obviously atrophied.
I don't understand why she's not drinking water. I would think loss of appetite would be attributed to an infection, but even though the hock joint is swollen it's no longer dark red. It's pinkish/whiteish.
I also don't understand why one leg appears so much longer, its as if her hips were at some freakish angle.. pushing her good leg down and her bad leg up. Could pain do that? I stayed up all night with her last night, coming back to her periodically to hopefully see her drink. My goal for sleep was to see that and it never happened so here I am.