Disabled Chick

[fisherrr]

Hello, I’m fairly new to this, this is only my second clutch of fowl I’ve hatched. This was a mixed clutch that one of my hens, who was recently eaten by a coyote was incubating, not sure they’re exactly her’s, but whatever. One of the chicks, Scooty, is three days old and cannot get her legs underneath her to walk. I’ve separated her from her hatchmates, Pocket and Dillweed, and am helping her eat and drink every hour or so, but how can I train or help her get her wonky leg underneath her?? She also has a crooked neck but I’m not too worried about it as she functions fairly well with it..


(Scooty Sitting Normally)


(Their Setup)


(Side View Of Scooty’s Wonky Leg)

 

[azygous]

The tiny one appears to be suffering from a vitamin deficiency called wry neck. It's usually treatable with vitamin E oil 400iu and a sliver of selenium daily. You will need to pry her beak open and get the entire capsule of oil into her along with the selenium. Pierce the capsule and squeeze the oil onto her tongue a drop at a time. You can dissolve the sliver of selenium into a drop of the oil and place it on her tongue. Be sure you avoid the center of the back of the throat where her airway is. Putting it into the right side of her beak is the best practice.

Her neck should get better pretty fast. If you don't see her legs get stronger in a couple days, give her a little B-complex along with the E. You can do this with baby vitamins without iron. Make sure what you select has the B complex in it. Otherwise you may need to dissolve an adult tablet and put it in her water.

Treat her until all her symptoms are gone.

 

[fisherrr]

THANK YOU SO MUCH I WAS WORRIED I WILL START THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND UPDATE YOU AS SOON AS SYMPTOMS PASS!!!!! THANK YOUUU

 

[MrPeeps]

The tiny one appears to be suffering from a vitamin deficiency called wry neck. It's usually treatable with vitamin E oil 400iu and a sliver of selenium daily. You will need to pry her beak open and get the entire capsule of oil into her along with the selenium. Pierce the capsule and squeeze the oil onto her tongue a drop at a time. You can dissolve the sliver of selenium into a drop of the oil and place it on her tongue. Be sure you avoid the center of the back of the throat where her airway is. Putting it into the right side of her beak is the best practice.

Her neck should get better pretty fast. If you don't see her legs get stronger in a couple days, give her a little B-complex along with the E. You can do this with baby vitamins without iron. Make sure what you select has the B complex in it. Otherwise you may need to dissolve an adult tablet and put it in her water.

Treat her until all her symptoms are gone.

also, look up how to fix wry neck with a sponge. It seems to have helped another person... I was looking up info to find out what's wrong with my duckling.

 

[Eggcessive]

Her legs may be splayed, and you can fix that with a hobble to her legs to bring them together, about an inch and a quarter apart. Vet wrap strips, bandaids, or tape can be used. Google splay leg in chicks, and look for links, such as FreshEggsDaily for pictures. The legs need to be held in the hobble for 3-5 days, and at first, you may need to help her stay upright to get the hang of it. Besides the vitamin E and selenium for her neck, I would also use a multivitamin that has B vitamins including riboflavin and thiamine. B complex tablets may be crushed into her feed or you can use liquid baby vitamins without iron.

The other possibility is a leg bone deformity or slipped tendon. Those are usually not possible to help, but the chick may learn to get around.

 

[fisherrr]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INSIGHT I WILLL BE SURE TO TRY EVERYTHING OUT AND LET YOU ALL KNOW WHAT ENDS UP WORKINGGG THABK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Hoping that she does well. Good luck!

 

[fisherrr]

Scooty has unfortunately passed, about an hour ago. I don’t think it was from any of the treatments you guys suggested, I think it was because I was too late, she did really well for a while, begun moving her legs more and getting that one stubborn one to stay under her. I guess it just wasn’t enough. Her siblings are strong and healthy and miss her dearly, as do I. Thank you for your help, you guys gave her a fighting chance.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that you lost Scooty. The ones that are disabled really take your heart. Take care.

 

[ayamEC]

So sorry you lost your chick. It’s super sad to lose one. Good luck with the other 2.