Curly toe paralysis in 2 week old chick not improving - what else can I try?

[savvythesavvy]

I have a 2.5 week old black star chick, and I noticed on Tuesday that she was hunkered down in the same spot in the brooder two times in a row when I checked on our 10 chicks. That’s when I saw one of the others trample her, and saw her teeter totter from side to side, catching herself with her wings and sticking her neck out to balance. She had been fine the day before, but now when I picked her up I saw her legs were tucked up under her and her toes were curled. I tried to help her stand, but she just immediately collapsed and did the same flailing to balance. I’ve been treating her in a separate brooder since then (today was day 4), but not seeing any improvement. She can get around, but only walking on her hocks, supporting herself with her wings, and cheeping unhappily the whole time.
Here’s a rundown of the main details of her life so far:

• Vaccinated for Marek’s and coccidocis at the hatchery (Murray McMurray). We’re within driving distance, so they didn’t have a rough ride through the mail.
• Brooder setup for the first several days was a large pop-up soft dog pen with zip top roof. Flooring was textured paper towels, and we used a heating plate rather than a lamp
• Several days in, switched bedding to industrial hemp bedding (we’re going to do the deep litter method with it), and added chick grit in case they ate some of the bedding.
• Food: Only Purina Start and Grow Non-Medicated crumbles from the start - no treats. Added Sav-A-Chick electrolytes to their water for the first 4 days. Food and water containers are cleaned with soap and water daily, and sanitized before washing every 3 days.
• Flockmates: no other birds have shown signs of curly toe paralysis, and they’re now noticeably bigger and more feathered than the black star.

Treatment so far (4 days and counting):

• In her own brooder (smaller dog pen, textured paper towel bedding changed out several times per day, her own brooder heating plate).
• Checked for injury, legs and feet look physically fine.
• Adding Rooster Booster Vitamins and Electrolytes with Lacto Baccilis to her water. She needs to either be supported over by the waterer, or hand watered using an eye dropper.
• Usually needs to be hand fed while being supported in my lap. She is eating and drinking well when I come in to check on her every hour and a half or so.
• Made “chick shoes” for her using vet tape and thin cardboard for 3 days - no improvement on curled toes. Tried splinting individual toes, but she pecked at them until she could get them off.
• Made hock pads for her using bits of gauze pad and vet wrap, but she manages to wiggle them all over the place very quickly.
• I support her belly and try to encourage her to use her legs each day, but she can’t.
• I tried creating a “donut” for her to rest in with a sock and vet wrap, but she flails until she’s out of it.

She’s still eating and drinking, but becoming increasingly distressed and not improving in her ability to stand or walk. Is there something else I can try? How long before we should see some improvement? I feel so terrible for her - I want her to recover of course, but I don’t want to put her through more pain and discomfort if we’ve reached the point where she’s not likely to recover.
Here’s a photo from today - you can see the tip of her left “chick shoe” sticking out in front of her left shoulder, and she’s using her wing to stabilize herself.

Thank you for reading, and thank you in advance for any advice!

 

[azygous]

Cheers and kudos for the excellent presentation of your issues and treatment to date. Is this about the small chick on the left? Are two chicks in the photo or am I seeing it wrong?

Anyway, your chick may have a roboflavin deficiency. B-1. You need to get these vitamin tablets from a health food store, and dissolve one a day in the chicks water. The other chicks can drink it as well.

If this is about a chick half the size of the others, this chick is likely failure to thrive (FTT.) It may never catch up, and other things could be at issue due to genetic abnormalities. Extra feedings of high grade protein may help. Tofu and boiled egg, finely minced, are good foods.

 

[savvythesavvy]

Cheers and kudos for the excellent presentation of your issues and treatment to date. Is this about the small chick on the left? Are two chicks in the photo or am I seeing it wrong?

Anyway, your chick may have a roboflavin deficiency. B-1. You need to get these vitamin tablets from a health food store, and dissolve one a day in the chicks water. The other chicks can drink it as well.

If this is about a chick half the size of the others, this chick is likely failure to thrive (FTT.) It may never catch up, and other things could be at issue due to genetic abnormalities. Extra feedings of high grade protein may help. Tofu and boiled egg, finely minced, are good foods.

Thanks for your reply! The photo is of just one chick (the blob on the left is the wing she’s leaning on keep upright). I’ve included a different photo of her and a photo of her flockmates here - I think she might be about half the size

My first thought was riboflavin - the Rooster Booster vitamins I’ve been adding to her water has 32mg per ounce (along with A, D, E and folic acid). Are the tablets a much higher concentration that would help more? She probably drinks at least an ounce or two per day of the vitamin water.
I’ll definitely try high grade protein as well!

Thank you for your time!

 

[azygous]

Yes, the riboflavin tablets would deliver much more of the vitamin than the combo multivitamin. It's good the chick is drinking well. As long as she drinks, delivering the riboflavin via the water is the safest method.

She won't overdose. B-vitamins are water soluble and excess is excreted out in urates.

 

[savvythesavvy]

Yes, the riboflavin tablets would deliver much more of the vitamin than the combo multivitamin. It's good the chick is drinking well. As long as she drinks, delivering the riboflavin via the water is the safest method.

She won't overdose. B-vitamins are water soluble and excess is excreted out in urates.

Wonderful, thank you so much! I fed her some cooked egg yolks this morning, which she loved, and picked up some riboflavin capsules to mix into her water today. She’s starting to have some strength back in her left leg/foot, so I think we’re finally making progress!

 

[junior67]

Wonderful, thank you so much! I fed her some cooked egg yolks this morning, which she loved, and picked up some riboflavin capsules to mix into her water today. She’s starting to have some strength back in her left leg/foot, so I think we’re finally making progress!

wondering how your chick was? I have one doing the same thing and started the b vitamins yesterday but couldn't get a ton in. finally got a good dose in today. Mine is 7 weeks old.

 

[savvythesavvy]

wondering how your chick was? I have one doing the same thing and started the b vitamins yesterday but couldn't get a ton in. finally got a good dose in today. Mine is 7 weeks old.

We ended up taking her to a local vet with a bird specialty about a week after I originally made this post. Her left leg had improved a bit, but she still just could not move around. It turned out that we’d done everything right for curly toe paralysis, but in our case she also had a congenital issue with the tendon on her right leg that made it too tight to work properly. So we made the very hard decision to have her euthanized because her quality of life would have been terrible. But the vet said all of the things we did (what I listed in the original post, plus more concentrated riboflavin and feeding egg yolks) were exactly what we should have done. Hope your chick doesn’t have a “bonus problem” like mine did and gets back on her feet with some vitamins and a little help!

 

[junior67]

We ended up taking her to a local vet with a bird specialty about a week after I originally made this post. Her left leg had improved a bit, but she still just could not move around. It turned out that we’d done everything right for curly toe paralysis, but in our case she also had a congenital issue with the tendon on her right leg that made it too tight to work properly. So we made the very hard decision to have her euthanized because her quality of life would have been terrible. But the vet said all of the things we did (what I listed in the original post, plus more concentrated riboflavin and feeding egg yolks) were exactly what we should have done. Hope your chick doesn’t have a “bonus problem” like mine did and gets back on her feet with some vitamins and a little help!

Thanks for the info and sorry about your chick!

Mine just started it on Wed a day before she turned 7 weeks. so hopefully no other issues as she was fine before then. I am doing egg yolk, vit B complex crushed up over the yolks, then some vit B complex liquid to try to get more in her that way (sometimes the pill pieces get flung around) and I am putting rooster booster poultry booster (so granules of vitamins) in with their food. I have her with the rest of them as that is where she is happiest and she moves around all over the coop with them so works her legs that way as she can still walk. I started the vitamins yesterday but not sure how much she got. I got a good dose of the liquid in her today. so hoping to start seeing some improvement soon. Oh and I just got some nutritional yeast to sprinkle on their food.