Chick won't stand on splayed leg

[BuckeyeFoodie]

So I have a silkie chick that had a really rough hatch (seriously, I've never seen a dried membrane that looked like that before), and ended up with the right leg splayed out. I taped the legs to correct the splay, but after two days the baby still isn't really using the splayed side - the baby will stand there balancing on the good leg, and kind of paddle with the bad one to move. I try to handle the baby a lot and move the bad leg so that the joint doesn't lock, but what else can I do?

 

[floodthelast]

How far apart are the legs? Can you post a picture? Usually to correct splay leg you support the legs with some sort of vetwrap, yarn or something to make little shackles then shorten the distance the legs are apart every few days. The first few days were hard on my chick, I had to make sure it got food and water but things got easier after the band between the legs got shorter and shorter.

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

How far apart are the legs? Can you post a picture? Usually to correct splay leg you support the legs with some sort of vetwrap, yarn or something to make little shackles then shorten the distance the legs are apart every few days. The first few days were hard on my chick, I had to make sure it got food and water but things got easier after the band between the legs got shorter and shorter.

I have the legs taped the standard way you do to correct a splay. What is happening that I have never seen before is the baby doesn't put any weight on the splayed leg when the corrective tape is in place.

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

Here is a video of the baby un-taped, and it seems to do better as far as the splay goes, but still doesn't want to put weight on that leg -

 

[Trisseh]

Have you checked for a slipped tendon? Does the hock joint bend manually or is it fused straight? Does the rest of the leg higher up feel normal? Bend at the stifle, range of motion at the hip, that kind of thing? Also how old is this little one now? Sorry, lots of questions.

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

Have you checked for a slipped tendon? Does the hock joint bend manually or is it fused straight? Does the rest of the leg higher up feel normal? Bend at the stifle, range of motion at the hip, that kind of thing? Also how old is this little one now? Sorry, lots of questions.

The chick is three days old.. I've seen the baby bend the hock, but I would say it is "sticky"? It didn't feel like the tendon was out of place, though its hard to tell on something this little? Stifle and range of motion felt ok, and the baby has been improving in the last 24 hours since I moved it out of the brooder and back into an incubator at brooder temp, but still not really putting weight on the leg.

 

[Trisseh]

Definitely investigate further for a tendon issue, even though it doesn’t really look like it as the leg is straight and the foot is not turned to either side from what I can see. Hard to know why it’s the way it is, whether hatch related, genetic, or injury, or some other reason. I would probably still treat it in some ways as a tendon issue. Try to stretch the leg into a normal bent position gently and slowly, hold it for a couple beats and then bring it back to straight. If you haven’t already, additional vitamin supplementation wouldn’t be a bad idea - not sure what you’ve got available to you but the B vitamins are helpful in most of these kinds of issues, and vitamin E is sometimes of use along with selenium and thiamine if there’s a neuro component.

I had a duckling that was splayed and was doing a similar movement with the leg especially when not hobbled. Also a rough hatch. I used a small strip of vetrap and wrapped him a little wider than I normally would and a few times a day I would flip him over and do passive ROM exercises with the leg, usually with both of his legs held by my fingers and moving together. It was like his brain was trained wrong because his leg moved normally when I did it, but he couldn’t seem to move it properly on his own. He’s 2 weeks old now and can walk fine. Still has an oddly wide stance but otherwise ok.

I don’t think any of the other splay leg remedies will really help this one; if in a cup it’ll probably just lean against the side, a chick chair will just encourage the peg leg thing happening...

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

Definitely investigate further for a tendon issue, even though it doesn’t really look like it as the leg is straight and the foot is not turned to either side from what I can see. Hard to know why it’s the way it is, whether hatch related, genetic, or injury, or some other reason. I would probably still treat it in some ways as a tendon issue. Try to stretch the leg into a normal bent position gently and slowly, hold it for a couple beats and then bring it back to straight. If you haven’t already, additional vitamin supplementation wouldn’t be a bad idea - not sure what you’ve got available to you but the B vitamins are helpful in most of these kinds of issues, and vitamin E is sometimes of use along with selenium and thiamine if there’s a neuro component.

I had a duckling that was splayed and was doing a similar movement with the leg especially when not hobbled. Also a rough hatch. I used a small strip of vetrap and wrapped him a little wider than I normally would and a few times a day I would flip him over and do passive ROM exercises with the leg, usually with both of his legs held by my fingers and moving together. It was like his brain was trained wrong because his leg moved normally when I did it, but he couldn’t seem to move it properly on his own. He’s 2 weeks old now and can walk fine. Still has an oddly wide stance but otherwise ok.

I don’t think any of the other splay leg remedies will really help this one; if in a cup it’ll probably just lean against the side, a chick chair will just encourage the peg leg thing happening...

I've been doing "physical therapy" a few times a day, pretty much what you described. I'm going to leave the tape off for now because the splay doesn't seem to be a problem any more, and the poor girl can't get herself back up if she falls because the straight leg hobbles the normal leg backward. B vitamins were given first day in the brooder (Silkies are notorious for b deficiencies), I will give them again tomorrow just to cover bases.

I'm really hoping this was hatch-related - this girl came out of a shipped egg with floating and saddled air cells, and I had to assist this one out 48 hours after pipping because the membrane was completely glued to her (everything was completely absorbed, and umbilical was closed). I've never seen a membrane that looked like that - I wish I'd taken pictures.