Curled toe paralysis?

[ChickNanny13]

Didn't see this earlier.....I had a 3wk chick develop CTP & thanks to BYC members with their help/advice, you can't pick him out in the flock...Except he's very sassy now. I separated him from the rest of the brood, TAPED his feet (using bandaid, adhesive part) flat, gave him PolyVisol minus the iron vitamins (3drops 3x day), mixed some boiled egg yolk into his chick starter, kept him warm & gave him a buddy. Kept his food & water close, however ended up using a lid for his water so he wouldn't tumble in it nor spill much (kept paper towel under it). I also got a piece of carpet for the "floor" of his bin for traction, could use towel. I changed the bandaid about every 3 days, I also exercised his leg/feet, making him push & work his leg muscles several times a day.
There were days it didn't look like he'd make it but in about 2wks he was "limping" around. I removed the bandaid tape & he could walk with a funny gait. Started taking him outside to see the rest of the brood, he was so sassy with them & chased the dog
Don't give up, Eggcessive was very supportive & helpful....

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

It doesn't really look like that, and it's only the one leg.
Now we think she probably has a slipped tendon (perosis). My daughter contacted the hatchery we got her from in hopes that they can give us guidance. We are waiting for a response, bad timing since they are closed on the weekends. Hopefully tomorrow.

In the meantime she and my husband have splinted Petunia's leg with vet wrap/tape. My husband said he felt something moving when he was flexing her leg....

Is there any hope for little Petunia?

 

[Eggcessive]

You had mentioned that earlier the other foot has some toe curling sometimes. I still think that she has curled toes from riboflavin deficiency, possibly inherited from parent stock. Does the Durvet vitamins package have dosage instructions? I might get some frozen beef liver, and chop her some every day for a treat in just small amounts. Plain yogurt, about a tsp daily will also contain B2. I am really hoping that you see more improvement soon, but hopefully the splinting will help. Using tape to make a shoe may also help. There are lots of articles on slipped tendons in poultry if you Google them, but there is not a good outcome with most cases.

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

The other foot is fine now. It is only the right foot that is affected.

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

Petunia has had her little 'cast' on for several days now. She is getting around much better, but still not all there. We took the bandage off to change it yesterday and she was still keeping her leg down, not pulling it up like she did before.
Today my daughter took her to the 'big coop' to see the other girls for a little while, and let her outside with one other chick to wander around the grass (supervised, of course).

Does anyone have any idea how long it might take for this to correct itself? I feel bad for her, separated from the others....

 

[ChickNanny13]

It took my little guy 2wks where I was comfortable enough to remove the tape from his feet, continued with the PolyVisol (less iron) boiled egg yolk for another week before I stopped. Continue with vitamins for riboflavin deficiency & her cast, it may take awhile but sounds like she's improving. Do some physical therapy, when you remove the cast or even with it on, exercise her leg. You could put a chick or two about her size/mellow in with her, watch that they do get along, that way when you introduce her back to the flock they won't fixate on her. When I've had to raise a single chick for whatever reason, I use a feather duster, mirror & stuffed animal.

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

Thanks for your reply.
We are pretty sure she has a slipped tendon--not CTP---and from what we've read this isn't usually all that correctable. We are hoping for the best though....if she can get to the point where she can do the usual chicken stuff--running around, scratching, etc, I don't care if she limps. I really don't want to have to cull her.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would continue the vitamins, especially riboflavin. A 1/2 of a B complex tablet can be crushed into some food daily, where you won't have to use other vitamins. Here are a couple of threads featuring Ciqala's little rooster with a slipped tendon:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...yone-ever-try-to-fix-this-experiences.879233/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-chick-with-weird-leg.978353/

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

Yesterday my daughter took Petunia's 'cast' off. She took her to see the other hens in the 'big coop', and she seemed to be scratching just fine. She has a limp, and that leg is considerably thinner than the other, but even this morning, with the cast still off, she is getting around. I think she is tiring easily--we had her outside with two of the other chicks, and after awhile she was just standing around, tired--so we put her back in her convalescent container.
I finally feel hope for her--I hope she will get stronger, and the tendon will not slip off again....though apparently our Wyandotte, Wynona, was not being especially nice to her when my daughter had her in the coop yesterday.
We're going to try getting those two together outside, and see if that helps--neutral territory and all. Any suggestions?

Keeping my fingers crossed for little Petunia's full (if limpy) recovery!