Chick with splay leg, elastic band method caused inflamed leg

[Altairsky]

Hi, I have a chick born with one splayed leg. I followed the elastic band tutorial and it appeared to work. The chick was walking normal and looked happy, after 3 days the splint came off but the leg wasn't healed so I had to put it on again.
Today the chick looked really sad and never came out of the heating plate to play, just to eat or drink. So I thought the splint was causing him some pain, and since he's been wearing a splint for 6 full days I took it off. The leg appeared to have some redness where the elastic band was rubbing and it looked slightly swollen.
The leg is still slightly splayed and it still come out of the side when the chick sleeps, but it can walk decently and I hope it's enough because I don't think this chick can tolerate a splint much longer.
Here is a video of him walking. It's the yellow chick with the grey stripe. Do you think his legs are fixed enough or do I need to splint them again?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I followed the elastic band tutorial and it appeared to work. The chick was walking normal and looked happy, after 3 days the splint came off but the leg wasn't healed so I had to put it on again.
Today the chick looked really sad and never came out of the heating plate to play, just to eat or drink. So I thought the splint was causing him some pain, and since he's been wearing a splint for 6 full days I took it off. The leg appeared to have some redness where the elastic band was rubbing and it looked slightly swollen.
The leg is still slightly splayed and it still come out of the side when the chick sleeps, but it can walk decently

6 days is a long time.

Do you have photos of the joint and the swelling?

If you feel the leg needs to be hobbled again, use vet wrap. Rubber bands are so thin, they can cause injury and cut off circulation.
Instructions on how to use wrap is in the article linked below.


https://the-chicken-chick.com/spraddle-leg-in-baby-chicks-what-is-it/

 

[Altairsky]

The redness and swelling are barely noticeable, I'll try to take a picture tomorrow morning but I'm pretty sure there will be nothing visible by then. I'm more worried about the leg still slightly splayed. Do you think it will improve further without splint?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If the swelling is going down, then I'd see how she is in 24hrs. I would be hesitant to wrap and fiddle with it while it's still swelled and irritated. If the condition of the swelling and skin looks better in the morning and you feel she needs to be hobbled for another day or two, then use the vet wrap method, the band is not going to help and likely will cause more damage.

Hard to say if she will improve without hobbling again. A lot depends on why she has splayed legs to begin with. Could be deformity or just something wrong with incubation.

 

[Altairsky]

Thanks, I'll update tomorrow morning.
Would be a good idea to give her a 2 or 3 days break from the splinting and see how it goes, or would it be too late to fix her if I wait and her leg worsen?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks, I'll update tomorrow morning.
Would be a good idea to give her a 2 or 3 days break from the splinting and see how it goes, or would it be too late to fix her if I wait and her leg worsen?

I'd try giving a break for a day or two and see how it goes.

 

[Altairsky]

No swelling and no redness this morning. I'll give her a few days break and see if the splay leg stay stable.

 

[Altairsky]

Chick is 100% normal now! Leg is no splayed anymore!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Chick is 100% normal now! Leg is no splayed anymore!

That's great news!

Did you end up having to splint/hobble again or she did fine without them?

 

[Altairsky]

She did fine without splinting