Chick with hurt leg

[kekronen]

I have a 2 day old barred rock chick who was trampled by the other chicks I recently hatched. The poor guy can't walk. His right foot is constantly lifted. He doesn't look like its splayed. I have tapped it up with athletic tape so it is stableized and have set him in a cup so he's in a type of sling so his legs hang down. I don't know what else to do or if I'm even doing the right thing. It doesn't look splayed because it doesn't go out to the side. Any suggestions on how to help? He active to the point where he is drinking water (with rooster booster) and is chirping like crazy.

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[Judy]

It is unlikely it will improve if it hasn't at this point. It may well survive if it is eating and drinking. (Scrambled eggs and a bit of moistened regular feed might encourage it to eat more. If you are having trouble with this, they usually stay quiet for examination if you lay them on their back a minute til they calm down, but realize this makes it a little difficult for them to breathe so you don't want to keep them that way for long. If you don't feel an obvious fracture in a leg, it is unlikely you could do anything for her yourself. Of course, you could find an avian vet, but that tends to be expensive. Some people do keep a crippled chicken, but it is a lot of hands on care.

Here is a link to a good reference on leg and foot injuries:

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

Good luck, and welcome to our forum! Sorry it was something like this that brought you here.

I don't know much about thee things, but could that be a slipped hock? (see the link.)

Good luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

The chick is holding the leg like it possibly has a slipped tendon, as Judy said. A leg bone deformity is also possible. The success rate for fixing those is poor, but you might as well try. Some try to put the tendon in place, and then vet wrap it. He doesn't look at all like a barred rock--with the coloring, and especially with the feathered legs, but he sure is cute. I would treat the chick with poultry vitamins that contain minerals--Poultry Nutri-Drench and Poultry Cell vitamins are 2 brands that contain the minerals (dosage is 1 ml daily by mouth.) Here are some links to look at about slipped tendon:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/756556/slipped-tendon-splayed-leg-confused

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...chick-anyone-ever-try-to-fix-this-experiences
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/220/slipped-tendon-perosis/

 

[kekronen]

I was told the eggs were Barred Rock mixed with Coachin. He's adorable and is such a little fighter. I'm an agriculture teacher and this was one of the eggs we just hatched. My students are so worried. I will definitely check out the links. Thanks so much for your help!!

The chick is holding the leg like it possibly has a slipped tendon, as Judy said. A leg bone deformity is also possible. The success rate for fixing those is poor, but you might as well try. Some try to put the tendon in place, and then vet wrap it. He doesn't look at all like a barred rock--with the coloring, and especially with the feathered legs, but he sure is cute. I would treat the chick with poultry vitamins that contain minerals--Poultry Nutri-Drench and Poultry Cell vitamins are 2 brands that contain the minerals (dosage is 1 ml daily by mouth.) Here are some links to look at about slipped tendon:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/756556/slipped-tendon-splayed-leg-confused

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...chick-anyone-ever-try-to-fix-this-experiences
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/220/slipped-tendon-perosis/

 

[kekronen]

Judy- thank you so much! I'm going to try to do everything to save this little guy. Like I said he almost didn't make it once and I've definitely grown attached to him.