chick with splayed hip/pelvis?

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I have a three week old chick that has always had leg issues. It couldn't stand as a newborn so I did the bandaid splint thing. It seemed to work great so after a week I took the bandaid off. The chick has been fine until yesterday. I noticed it wasn't wanting to walk around a lot. A few minutes ago I was replacing water and food and noticed it walking around. The hip joint at the top of the leg is noticeably sticking out. The chick can walk and doesn't seem to be in pain (at least it is not cheeping like they do when they hurt). I held it in my hand on its back and that leg clearly doesn't work the way the healthy leg does. When I set it back down it stood up, but that joint is jutting out to the side.

Is this a fixable problem? This poor baby has had all manner of problems with this leg. Other than the hip thing it is happy and mobile though. How do I fix this or do I need to put the poor baby down?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Times like this, I wish a quick xray was not so costly

I am no help...............I would probably, myself, raise it up for freezer camp.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

It is the only chick that hatched from $50 worth of eggs. If I can get it up and healthy I would love to keep it. Of course, it will likely turn out to be a rooster.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Ugh, I had one like that. Could not find an area "wrong" to pinpoint what was wrong.......after processing - his whole body was put together oddly, almost off center. He walked very...........uncoordinated and would have never been able to balance to breed. He also ended up with red leakage, so another strike against him.

Just the toss of the dice and the gamble of hatching.