Crippled/ sick 5 day old chick??

[Kiki]

Umm. I swear I'm not trying to be rude but yeah that what I've been trying to say from the start. That something is "off". I don't think I ever really painted a picture any different. The others don't bully her that I have seen. I'm not sitting and staring at them all the time but I do keep a check regularly and I have never noticed any aggressive behavior towards her. She eats with them and drinks with them. She does get knocked over because the others don't know she's "off" and that they shouldn't jostle her. I'm pretty sure that it's probably something with her feet but I thought I'd try what you suggested on the off chance that I was wrong.

It's very hard to understand the "picture" people try to paint with words sometimes.
The videos tell a different story (to me) from what I was reading.
I do not take anything as being rude on this website...i try to understand where everyone is "coming" from, but again sometimes its hard.

Do her legs look any different from one another?

 

[amanning0924]

No. Her feet and legs look "normal". Like I said before, her feet don't grip like they should. They just kind of hang limp.

 

[Kiki]

Maybe she just isn't meant to be?

I would try the vitamins....
I think I remember reading something about someone helping their chicken with physical therapy for some issues with the legs.
Give me a few minutes to see if I can find it...maybe if you help her move/work with her little toes it could help?

 

[Kiki]

Check this out:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1157119/really-bad-splay-leg#post_18158836


POST #2

 

[drumstick diva]

I can see what you mean by "off," poor little chick. I think she would do much better on her own - separated from them. They knock her over and bump her(normal for chicks) but it is very exhausting for her. By the time she gets to the feeder she is too worn out to eat. If you pinch her little feet - does she seem to feel it. I am wondering if she has numbness that causes her to walk funny and topple over easily. She obviously has spirit and tries hard. If you could partition off part of the brooder, so she can see the others but, they can't tumble her around. Also she would have her own feeder and water - she may start to thrive. Her feet may always be a problem but, I think she can grow up and find ways to work around it - like supporting herself with her wings, etc.

You might give her a little stuffed animal to cuddle with. I'm trying to think of other things to ask. Do the bottoms of her feet feel cold or warm? I think cold might indicate a circulation problem as well as numbness. She is such a little doll in your videos, I really want to see her do well.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for posting the videos

I must agree with @drumstick diva if you have a way to separate her that would be a good idea. She does have some spunk, but after seeing her struggle repeatedly to get to food and I would assume it's the same to water, she needs a bit of TLC. She's expending a lot of energy to get there, only to be overrun by the other chicks.

This is my opinion - IF she were mine - I would separate her (a wire barrier in the brooder so she can see the others). I would also give her poultry vitamins that contain B2 (riboflavin), E, and Selenium. I would direct dose her with Poultry Nutri-Drench then add this to her water as well. I would also offer wet chick starter to eat. (As mentioned in my previous posts).

Time will tell if she improves with vitamin therapy. There's no way to know if her problem stems from Vitamin/Nutritional deficiency, head/neck or leg injury or a neurological/developmental disorder. The only thing you can do is try to give supportive care, wait and see.

 

[amanning0924]

Lola was gone this morning. Ive been half expecting this every morning since Sunday. I guess i should have put her down before now, but I cant help but to "mother" things no matter how hard i try and I just couldnt make myself do it. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Should we ever have any more issues with future chicks I now your posts and info will come in handy.

 

[Kiki]

Lola was gone this morning. Ive been half expecting this every morning since Sunday.

I guess i should have put her down before now, but I cant help but to "mother" things no matter how hard i try and I just couldnt make myself do it. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Should we ever have any more issues with future chicks I now your posts and info will come in handy.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry

 

[amanning0924]

I just thought I'd post a follow up just in case anybody should read this thread and be looking for help with similar issues. We had another chick that started to display the same behaviors that Lola had about 4-5 days after Lola passed. My kids named this one Tipsy (Lord they have a way with names...lol) because she was walking around falling over from side to side. When she walked she would extend her wings out to the side to keep herself upright. She wasn't falling over and getting stuck like Lola and her symptoms were not as bad, but clearly something was off with Tipsy too. The other chicks were climbing around on the Moma heat pad and climbing and jumping on their little roost pole but she could not do any of those things. She was eating and drinking but other wise would just lay and look because she was so dizzy. She did this for a couple days ( while I worried and wrung my hands) and I finally decided that I was gonna try oregano essential oil and see if that helped her. Oregano is antibacterial and antiviral. I use essential oils on my family and I have used oregano oil before on my hens, but I was a little leery of using it on such a small chick. But it was either try that or just let her die so I thought I'd try. I diluted the oil very heavily because it is very potent. Like maybe 5-6 drops of olive oil to every one drop of oregano essential oil. I gave her two or three drops of that mixture everyday. I just pried her little mouth open and dropped it in with a dropper. After two days we could tell a big difference in her. She was walking a little taller and not having to use her wings to balance and by day five she was running around like all our other chicks. She is now 9 weeks old, healthy as far as I know, and one of my favorite birds. She is very friendly and likes to hop up on my lap and hang out for a while. I wish that I had thought to try this with Lola and maybe it would have helped her but instead I went with traditional meds. Lesson learned should there be a next time.