Deformity?

[jessicadanielle84]

My mother hatched out this baby about a week ago I believe. She asked me if I wanted it and of course I said yes!!! Heres the problem. The baby cannot stand on its right leg. Its knee appears to be turned sideways and aprox two to three times the size of its good knee. It will not fully extend. The baby walks on its knee and never fully stands up. It curls its legs under it for the most part. Its toes are functioning but it rarely extends its toes. What can I do?

 

[HuntingChick14]

Sounds like a slipped achilles tendon. You should still have time to correct it. I would recommend making a "chicken chair" for her and trying that. I've never made one, but I did have a chick with the same issue. I didn't realize what the problem was in time, so all I could really do was try to do physical therapy type things with her by stretching her leg out to attempt to also stretch out the tendon. Before you try the chair though, I would try to extend her leg and gently push with your thumb on the side that the tendon is slipped off of. From the pictures, it looks like you would want to press towards the outside of her body to align her tendon. When the chick is young enough, you should be able to just slip it back into place. I would still make the chair though and use that to help keep the tendon in place once you've realigned it. Good luck!