Chick with weak leg!

[Belle020]

Hello,

I have a 5 day old chick who has a weak left leg. He can't stand up fine and walk but has some difficulty. He also eats and drinks fine witch I'm happy about I incubated 8 eggs 7 of them hatched but unfortunately 3 have already died one died on the first day and the other two recently died. They could not stand at all so I they didn't have a chance I got the eggs posted from a hatchery. Anyways the chick I have with the weak left leg, I took him to the vet today and the vet said to keep the leg brace on him for another week to 10 days and see how he goes. I also have him on poultry tonic. The vet recomened this as she said the chick might have deficiency. I'm holding that will help. So I'm wondering if any of you ever had a chick/chicken with a lame or weak leg? Do you think my chick will have a chance? And can I do anything else to help him more. Please if anyone has any advise I would be greatfull Just to let you know this chick was born a day late on day 22 and is the youngest, I have 3 more and they're perfectly fine. I also have him in a box in my room he is beside a window so the sun is keeping him warm. Is this ok? I don't have an extra heat lamp for him. I only have one at the brooder where the other chicks are. The vet told me to keep him seperate from the others so what is the best way to keep him warm without a heat lamp? And is it okay to keep him in the brooder at night and take him out during the day?

Sorry I have a lot of questions, please any you can answer is fine. I just want to do my best to save this chick

Thank you!

 

[Belle020]

Here is a picture of the chick

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Hello,

I have a 5 day old chick who has a weak left leg. He can't stand up fine and walk but has some difficulty. He also eats and drinks fine witch I'm happy about

I incubated 8 eggs 7 of them hatched but unfortunately 3 have already died

one died on the first day and the other two recently died. They could not stand at all so I they didn't have a chance

I got the eggs posted from a hatchery. Anyways the chick I have with the weak left leg, I took him to the vet today and the vet said to keep the leg brace on him for another week to 10 days and see how he goes. I also have him on poultry tonic. The vet recomened this as she said the chick might have deficiency. I'm holding that will help. So I'm wondering if any of you ever had a chick/chicken with a lame or weak leg? Do you think my chick will have a chance? And can I do anything else to help him more. Please if anyone has any advise I would be greatfull

Just to let you know this chick was born a day late on day 22 and is the youngest, I have 3 more and they're perfectly fine. I also have him in a box in my room he is beside a window so the sun is keeping him warm. Is this ok? I don't have an extra heat lamp for him. I only have one at the brooder where the other chicks are. The vet told me to keep him seperate from the others so what is the best way to keep him warm without a heat lamp? And is it okay to keep him in the brooder at night and take him out during the day?

Sorry I have a lot of questions, please any you can answer is fine. I just want to do my best to save this chick

Thank you!

Sorry to hear that you've lost some of your chicks. Was there any pattern to it - did you notice anything unusual about their eating/drinking/pooping or behavior at all? Or did it seem like just general weakness? I administer vitamin supplements if I have weak hatchlings, too.

It seems to usually be (in my experience, at least) the late hatchers that have leg problems. What kind of brace do you have on the chick's leg? Does s/he have splay leg? Early, proper treatment of splay leg can have good outcomes - there are several threads on the topic here on BYC.

This thread has information on alternatives to a heat lamp: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1017357/keeping-baby-chicks-warm-without-a-heat-lamp. I'd go with a heat source that's consistent, rather than sunlight, to ensure that the chick's heat needs are met. Can the chick get out of the sunlight if it's too warm? That's important, too. The Learning Center has a lot of helpful resources on raising chicks - including information about the temperatures needed at different ages - like these articles: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens, https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/raising-your-baby-chicks.

Best wishes for your chick to get stronger and grow into a big, healthy pullet or cockerel!

 

[Belle020]

Thank you for your reply.

The two chicks that died did not really eat much. I tried getting them to eat but they would not.
I have the chicks leg brace made up of a rubber band and 1/2 inch plastic straw. I'm not sure if it is splayed leg, it's only his left leg that sticks out to the side without the brace so I put one on within the first few days. And he is not directly in the sun light I have a part of the box shaded so he don't get too hot and I'm keeping an eye on him until I can find a new heat source.

 

[authHeirlooms]

You can use a standard incandescent bulb to provide heat also - just make sure that the chick can get near it and have a cooler space if it needs to cool down. For young chicks the proper temperature is very important. You may also want to try chicken electrolytes/nutrients - if you don't have any on hand you can add molasses to the water also, but part of the lethargy may also be related to the temperature. Chicks in our experience really do better with company, also. They are flock animals and don't like to be alone. For splinting splay-leg we use a band-aid cut in half (so it is long & skinnier) where the pad in the center defines the space between the lags, then we wrap the sticky ends around the legs and back over the center part, if that makes sense. A feather duster can also provide comfort to a lone chick - they like to huddle under them like it is a mother hen.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thank you for your reply.

The two chicks that died did not really eat much. I tried getting them to eat but they would not.
I have the chicks leg brace made up of a rubber band and 1/2 inch plastic straw. I'm not sure if it is splayed leg, it's only his left leg that sticks out to the side without the brace so I put one on within the first few days. And he is not directly in the sun light I have a part of the box shaded so he don't get too hot and I'm keeping an eye on him until I can find a new heat source.

YVW. It sounds like it could be splay leg to me - I find that elastic bandaging like Vetrap works best (for starters, it sticks to itself but you can still "unstick" it when needed). This thread has photos and instructions that you may find helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41693/spraddle-leg-splay-leg-treatment-instructions.

I'd keep giving him the vitamin supplements and hobble him with the elastic bandaging so the leg can start to come into proper alignment. It will take at least several days (or longer) to retrain the leg so he can walk normally, and he will hop, flutter his wings, and probably fall over sometimes until he gets used to his feet being bound together. Just remember it's for his own good.

With the chicks that died previously, it's difficult to narrow down a possible cause based on the failure to eat...but that's never a good sign. Eating, drinking, and pooping are (obviously) critically important. As long as he keeps doing those three things, I'd say he does have a chance.