Chick with twisted hip/leg

[uisceros]

Hi everyone,

As I am apparently a magnet for disabled chickens, I was given a little Easter egger chick with a badly twisted leg. At first I thought it was a simple splay leg, but now I’m thinking it’s a malformation of her hip joint. As of right now she is 2.5 weeks old.

She gets around okay (hopping and using her wing as a crutch), eats, drinks, and plays with her chick sibling. If this is her life, that’s fine.

My question is, is there anything I can do to help her leg or make her more comfortable? I was binding her legs, but it was almost making it worse (it was getting twisted backwards too much). I assume I was just doing it wrong, but who knows!

In this pic you can see how her right leg is off to the side.

And here you can see how it sits when she’s on the floor (almost straight behind her)

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Possibly slipped tendon? I’ve never seen a chick like that in person.

 

[uisceros]

Possibly slipped tendon? I’ve never seen a chick like that in person.

I don’t think it’s a slipped tendon, since it seems to be originating from her hip, but I’m not a vet so who knows!

You can see here how badly twisted it is:

I don’t need to fix her, but I want to make her comfortable.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi everyone,

As I am apparently a magnet for disabled chickens, I was given a little Easter egger chick with a badly twisted leg. At first I thought it was a simple splay leg, but now I’m thinking it’s a malformation of her hip joint. As of right now she is 2.5 weeks old.

She gets around okay (hopping and using her wing as a crutch), eats, drinks, and plays with her chick sibling. If this is her life, that’s fine.

My question is, is there anything I can do to help her leg or make her more comfortable? I was binding her legs, but it was almost making it worse (it was getting twisted backwards too much). I assume I was just doing it wrong, but who knows!

In this pic you can see how her right leg is off to the side.
View attachment 3907019

And here you can see how it sits when she’s on the floor (almost straight behind her)
View attachment 3907023

Looks like it may be a leg bone deformity. Binding, hobbling and splinting will not correct deformities and could be painful.

Maybe Rotated Tibia.

Valgus Varus deformity, Valgus Variation.

Some chicks can learn to adapt and move about o.k., but sometimes they fail as they get older and heavier, and the legs are no longer able to support them. A sling may help as she gets older, but quality of life needs to be considered.

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/leg-health-in-large-broilers

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...gular-(Valgus/Varus)-Leg-Deformities_v3343383

 

[uisceros]

Looks like it may be a leg bone deformity. Binding, hobbling and splinting will not correct deformities and could be painful.

Maybe Rotated Tibia.

Valgus Varus deformity, Valgus Variation.

Some chicks can learn to adapt and move about o.k., but sometimes they fail as they get older and heavier, and the legs are no longer able to support them. A sling may help as she gets older, but quality of life needs to be considered.

Yeah, I figured it was more likely a deformity. For now I sort of bandaged her foot to her thigh so that it’s out of the way and the hip doesn’t get more twisted as she moves.

The good news is that she’s an Easter egger, so I think she’ll probably be on the smaller size. The other good news is that if all else fails she can live with my Seramas who will be half her size (so hopefully no one will bully her).

I’m definitely a bleeding heart, so as long as she wants to live I’ll give her a chance. I mean, I do have a chicken wheelchair

I’m hoping to bring her to my vet to confirm there’s nothing else I can do in the meantime. Thanks!!

 

[Themellowyellows]

Keep us posted, im following. Hope she will be ok!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yeah, I figured it was more likely a deformity. For now I sort of bandaged her foot to her thigh so that it’s out of the way and the hip doesn’t get more twisted as she moves.

The good news is that she’s an Easter egger, so I think she’ll probably be on the smaller size. The other good news is that if all else fails she can live with my Seramas who will be half her size (so hopefully no one will bully her).

I’m definitely a bleeding heart, so as long as she wants to live I’ll give her a chance. I mean, I do have a chicken wheelchair

I’m hoping to bring her to my vet to confirm there’s nothing else I can do in the meantime. Thanks!!

LOL She may fall on a Serama and hurt them.

I think you've got this. A sling can be helpful to get her off her leg/give her a break during the day.
Some do learn to move about pretty well with just one leg, time will tell.
Having a wheelchair, you've got this.

 

[uisceros]

LOL She may fall on a Serama and hurt them.

I think you've got this. A sling can be helpful to get her off her leg/give her a break during the day.
Some do learn to move about pretty well with just one leg, time will tell.
Having a wheelchair, you've got this.

Hahaha, my Seramas can take it! Benefits of a bantam flock, I have a backup if I get any bullied standard birds.

I’ll definitely look into a sling for her. She’s still a little too small for the wheelchair I have (it’s a Serama wheelchair, I had a Marek’s paralyzed Roo), but I will probably get her a larger one as time goes on.

She’s honestly doing really good considering - she has a friend (a hilariously social NH red), and is growing and feathering out. I have a few other wonky chickens, so she’s in good company!

 

[uisceros]

Quick update: I brought the chick with the leg issue to my vet. As suspected there's not much I can do, but he said it shouldn't be hurting her since that's just how she is.

We're doing a few things - she was put on a lower protein feed to delay her growth a little bit, and we discussed a possible surgery when she's older. For the time being she is mostly happy and wants to live. I will give her that chance

 

[Pharmy2012]

Yeah, I figured it was more likely a deformity. For now I sort of bandaged her foot to her thigh so that it’s out of the way and the hip doesn’t get more twisted as she moves.

The good news is that she’s an Easter egger, so I think she’ll probably be on the smaller size. The other good news is that if all else fails she can live with my Seramas who will be half her size (so hopefully no one will bully her).

I’m definitely a bleeding heart, so as long as she wants to live I’ll give her a chance. I mean, I do have a chicken wheelchair

I’m hoping to bring her to my vet to confirm there’s nothing else I can do in the meantime. Thanks!!

I have a 2 month old silkie chick with the exact same issue!! She was splay legged and we hobbled her for weeks and it seemed to correct, but one day I checked on her and noticed the leg was off center and she was hobbling around. I thought nothing of it until it started to look like this and I noticed a change in her stance. I can move her leg around and I’ve tried feeling for a tendon to wrap it but I agree the twist seems to be happening higher up. We named her Banana so now it’s kind of fitting because her leg is kind of shaped like one. Poor thing! But we also are bleeding hearts so she’ll stay regardless.