Feed Store Baby- Broken

[Shezadandy]

Hi all,

I couldn't leave this little sitting there in the stock tank at the feed store getting run over and pushed about.

Don't know if we can actually help it or if the kindest option is to send it on its way to chick heaven.

It can still use its toes on the bad leg.

There is a big bruise on the foot and the hock is very swollen, and the skin is broken, though I didn't see any bones sticking out.

I can gently rotate the leg to a more tenable angle, though as one might expect the more I mess with things the less happy the chick becomes.

Chick is alert and has done some eating/drinking but can't put weight on the leg (any more than it takes to hop on its good leg)

So- I'm open to suggestions - this will be the first serious leg injury I've attempted to help.

 

[SkyBlueEmu]

Poor little guy.

You can try to make a small splint using a band-aid or some vet wrap/self adhering tape. Apply some Neosporin/antibiotic ointment (pain relief free and free from anything ending in -caine as it's toxic to poultry) to the broken skin. The chick needs plenty of rest and needs to be comfortable and have easy access to food and water. I would try giving some electrolytes/vitamins just to help him stay hydrated and to make sure he is getting enough nutrients.

You could try giving the chick aspirin (only aspirin no other types of pain relief) to help with the swelling and pain. Dosing the aspirin may be difficult for a chick because they are so small. The dosage is 25mg per 1lb, (ex. A 40g chick would need around 2mg of aspirin per day). Aspirin can be dissolved in the chick's water or sprinkled on food.

This website has some good information on treating leg problems and injuries and has some options for treating injures.
https://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/

Hope this helps and I hope the chick's leg feels better soon.

 

[Shezadandy]

Poor little guy.

You can try to make a small splint using a band-aid or some vet wrap/self adhering tape. Apply some Neosporin/antibiotic ointment (pain relief free and free from anything ending in -caine as it's toxic to poultry) to the broken skin. The chick needs plenty of rest and needs to be comfortable and have easy access to food and water. I would try giving some electrolytes/vitamins just to help him stay hydrated and to make sure he is getting enough nutrients.

You could try giving the chick aspirin (only aspirin no other types of pain relief) to help with the swelling and pain. Dosing the aspirin may be difficult for a chick because they are so small. The dosage is 25mg per 1lb, (ex. A 40g chick would need around 2mg of aspirin per day). Aspirin can be dissolved in the chick's water or sprinkled on food.

Hope this helps and I hope the chick's leg feels better soon.

Thanks!

I know- poor little baby. Couldn't stand the thought of leaving it there. Thankfully (though I would have bought him) the store was willing to let me have him.

As I was working on the little earlier, I was able to get the foot to face forward next to the other leg, and the chick kinda fell asleep in that position, so I wonder if I've got more of a bad dislocation than a break. It was much the same when I had a curled toes case- that chick wouldn't stop chirping - but as soon as it got the shoe on with the toes put in the right place it fell asleep almost instantly.

OK- now it's time to try a couple things. Thanks for the input - hopefully we'll get other ideas on this thread too!

 

[sawilliams]

You said the hock is a bit swollen? Can you feel the hock tendon? I had to feel up the hock first to find it then follow it back down to the joint. I'm just thinking it might be to late to fix but it does look like possibly a slipped tendon. It's some where to start at least.

 

[Littleshadow]

Yes I would do what the above user posted.
Try getting the foot positioned back in the correct position and use a bandage to secure it. I'd check the bandage every several hours and change it when it's getting overly dirty or worn. Use vitamins and electrolytes if you can.
If the chicks leg isn't improving in the next several days then I'd personally cull the baby, no way it could live a normal life with a flock with a leg like that.
Be gentle not to cause to much damage but it's going to hurt the bird a little no matter what you do.
If its dislocated then there is a chance you can fix it if it's broken then that's less likely, though still possible.

 

[Shezadandy]

Based on what I'm feeling, I don't think it's broken. Ultimately what I decided to do for tonight was clean up the hock - and treat it like a splayed leg, securing it to the good leg with vetwrap so it can't camp out quite as far. Got a little aspirin/poultridrench/polivisol down the hatch - and baby is eating and drinking etc. Will reassess in the morning after it's had a little time to adjust.

It's hard to know if it's a splay leg that then got tweaked by shipping to the store, or if something traumatic happened to the leg that caused the hock swelling and the bruise in that foot. I wish they could tell us what happened.

 

[Shezadandy]

The splay leg approach doesn't seem to be doing much.

Today I've taped the lower leg to the thigh bone using vetwrap, and treated the hock/elbow area with DMSO in coconut oil.

The chick can still move all parts- I haven't felt anything broken anywhere- it seems like things are OK in the hip joint- so whatever happened I think the damage is from the hock to the foot, which to me makes more sense given the bruising. The hock is swollen enough that following the tendon at this point is exceedingly difficult- and everything is so tiny.

The future is uncertain- all we can do is try!!

​

 

[Shezadandy]

Sad update: Last night I made the decision to help this chick go to the next place. Thanks for all the suggestions. She was obviously very uncomfortable last night (constant inconsolable peeps) with no good progress to make her continued discomfort a reasonable thing. If only she'd been treated at the time she was injured, maybe it would have been a different outcome.

 

[townchicks]

Sad. Good for you for attempting to help.

 

[HeyHo]

So sorry. But you are a special kind of person to have taken on such a challenge. That chick knows it was loved!