Chick with standing issues. *pics added* Help please....

[itsy]

I have 7 Polish chicks that are about 3-4 days old. One chick is still laying down. It can stand when I make it stand and is able to walk for a step or two and then falls back on it's hocks. I was reading one of the stickies at the top that shows making a "hock cushion." Will that help this chick stand or is that just to keep heavy adult birds from hurting their hocks?

Because of this problem - does it have spraddle leg? The other chicks are fine...perhaps this one had a bad hatch?

I have them on a "sticky" sort of paper towel. It provides traction and doesn't slip around when they move. They can't stick to the paper towel. I was thinking of putting pine shavings in, but I want to do what's best for the chick with the standing problem.

I need to watch better tomorrow to see if his feet turn in at all. I didn't notice that tonight.

It's managing to eat and drink and move, but it's a shuffled type of movement. If I don't do something now, I'm afraid it's going to stay this way. Initially - I thought it was just a weak chick that needed to gain strength, but at this point, I think it's something else.

FYI - I'm feeding a medicated chick starter. They are in a large rubbermaid tub, which is where I raised my last batch of chicks.

 

[PoultryPedia]

I found this info:
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http://successwithpoultry.blogspot.com/
Another cause of crooked looking toes is a riboflavin deficiency (vitamin B2) and that may be a deficiency in the chick itself or because the breeding stock had that deficiency. The toes may curl inward or underneath and a partial paralysis of the legs can also force the chick to walk and rest on the hock joints (in a squatting position). Curled toe paralysis may be helped if it is the starter ration that has insufficient riboflavin. In those cases symptoms can start to appear at around 10 days old and when a multivitamin supplement is supplied promptly before too much damage has been done the chicks can recover.
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Vitamin B can tie in with correcting a number of leg problems so you might give it a try!

 

[itsy]

I'm going to add photos. I took a photo of each of his hocks and cropped them together. They're getting sore from laying so much:

Here he is standing. He doesn't seem to stand as upright as the other chicks and it appears that his stance might be wider?

Here he is again... There's nothing wrong with his wing, it's just caught up on the fabric:

So please - advice? Do I tape up his legs so he can stand? Are there instructions somewhere on how to do this?

 

[ChickiKat]

he sure look grumpy...

 

[PoultryPedia]

Thanks for posting pics!

That always helps lots!

Taping the legs is used when a chick thinks the way to stand or move around is to turn one leg out sideways ("spraddle leg"). The tape prevents the chick from being able to do that, so the chick has to learn the correct way, which is to turn both legs forward. Your chick looks like it's turning both legs forward already and knows how to stand right.

It sounds like it has trouble maintaining the effort. That could be from underdevelopment of muscles, etc. Vitamin B might help with progress.

You could also encourage him to "exercise" his muscles by holding a treat a little higher than he can reach so he has to push and stand up to grab it.

I would do a check to see if the alignment of his hock bones & tendons looks correct by looking at those on one of your chicks that isn't having problems, and comparing.

A thin hock cushion or putting down sawdust would probably be a good idea since his hocks are getting so sore. He might get reluctant to try standing because of how much it hurts landing back down??

Best wishes