Does my chick have a deformed knee? Can I help her straighten it?

[Curran]

I have been fighting to keep this little one alive these past two days, she had a very hard time hatching from her shell (Incubator, I had to assist her), she was very weak, but also got heat exhaustion from her siblings blocking her in a hot corner through the night. Now today she has enough energy to want to walk around, eat and drink, but it seems like one of her legs is deformed?.. I didn't think anything of it the first two days, I just thought her leg was splayed a little and I would take care of it once she got some strength, but now she is just flopping around their cage in a circle attempting to walk on it.


From what I can tell it doesn't cause her severe pain, but is uncomfortable. She doesn't seem able to extend it past what is shown in the pictures. Her other leg seems to be just fine, she can even balance herself a little bit before toppling over.

I felt around the red/inflamed part, and to me it felt like the bottom half of her leg is twisted sideways from the knee. She has a little bit of movement in her toes on that leg, but not much.. Taking her to a vet isn't an option for me, so I'm really hoping there's something I can do. it's heart breaking seeing her struggle after getting her back to this point.

 

[Curran]

I am going to set up a smaller environment and separate her from the others. While they don't seem to be picking on her, I feel like her current area is too big for her to maneuver through. I am also thinking of putting a brace/hobbles just above her knees to try and help her to straighten the bad leg.

As I look at her leg some more, it seems like it could be rotated back in to place over time.. but I am really not sure. I am afraid if I put a brace on her wrong it could cause more pain or mess her leg up worse

 

[Meenew]

Hi

i was wondering what happened with your chick.
I have one just born with the same problem.

julie