Gimpy pullet chick

[KK4CWT]

I picked up 8 pullet chicks yesterday, got them home and in the brooder. I noticed one had something hanging off her leg and was having a time trying to walk. I got the thing off, it was either a thread or part of the umbilical cord. It had gotten so tight it was biting into her thigh.

Now she's having a very hard time walking, she hops more than she walks and her toes are purple. She's not grown as much as her sisters, nor is she eating as much. She's not able to push her way to the feeder, because everyone is bunched up using half the feeder instead of spreading out and using the entire feeder.

Here is a video of her that explains more: https://youtu.be/xM7GVoCsKxU

My questions:
Is there anything else I can do to help her be a happy, thriving pullet?
Will she loose her toes?
Will she loose her leg?
Since she's not grown as much as her sisters, is there a chance she will starve? she has to lay down to eat/drink.
If she lives, what kind of life will she have?
If she lives, will I have to keep her in a pen either by herself or with a fewer number of sisters?

Thanks in advance for the advice!
Carol

 

[chippy99th]

Have you seen any improvement since taking the string/cord off? Both in terms of her mobility, and in the condition of her leg.

It looks to me like she will recover (although I don't like the look of her toes at all). Baby chicks can be surprisingly resilient, and even if she never regains full use of her leg, she seems to have learned to move and balance well already. I'd guess the "storking" is because of discomfort on that foot, it's swollen and probably tender.

She will probably have a hard time of it if kept with the others, though. When I had a chick hatch last December (almost 2 months old now) missing one leg, I removed her from the other chicks and put her in a separate brooder with only one other chick for company, as they don't do well alone. She did fine, was able to spend less energy competing for food, and her buddy learned to be gentle since they were raised together. I might recommend trying that. Really, mine was struggling a lot more until she was spared having to compete.

The purple toes, she might lose. If it starts to spread, I'd be worried. I've never dealt with something like that, though, so I'll not offer advice there.

If she doesn't gain more use of the leg, you might have to do a little work making sure she's strong, especially if she's a Buff Orpington (correct me if I'm wrong there) because the heavier breeds need stronger legs for bigger bodies. Handle her to make her tame and when she's older, you can teach her to come to you for treats! (That's the upside to the ones that need a little TLC, they often turn out very friendly.)

It's too bad that she came to you like that. I hope things work out!

P.S. By your poll I'm assuming that you'd be willing to choose an amputation if necessary. I don't expect it will be, but it's good of you to be thinking of it.

 

[KK4CWT]

Yes she is a Buff Orpington. Her mobility is ok, she hops on the good leg only occasionally putting her bum leg down. She lays down to eat and drink.

I am considering what you said about brooding her separately. One of her sisters hangs around her and is very gentle and considerate with her. When I separate the babies I think I will take the 2 pushy, bigger Orpingtons and the 2 amerucanas and put them in a different brooder, leaving the gimpy girl, her kind sister and the black australorps together. The australorps are not much bigger, they also seem to be loosing out to the 2 pushy orpingtons. Overall this bunch is much quieter than the mixed run of bantam chicks we brooded last year.

Her leg/foot seems to be doing about the same today as yesterday, except the toes are turning black. I expect they will fall off on their own. She doesn't have the range of motion in her knee as she does on the good leg, I haven't yet examined her hips to see if both thighs have full range of motion. I have some antibiotics that I am using for my Amerucana hens, should I put a sprinkle in Gimpy's water to see if that will help her a bit? How can I make sure her good leg is strong enough to carry her? Should I try to make a brace for her bum leg to help her get around?

 

[chippy99th]

Well, I'm not a vet, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt. That said-

At this point I personally would not make a brace for Gimpy's bum leg. It sounds as though she is learning to get along as is. If it was braced, not only would she have to learn a new way of moving, but she also might have more problems if it stresses her good leg. I think your plan to split the chicks up into a group of calmer/more aggressive is a good idea.

Taking the pushier ones out will give her a little rest, and later, integrating two groups of the same number will be easier than adding two to a bigger group.

As to antibiotics, I've been fortunate enough never to have to give those to my chickens. I can only say that you want to very careful giving such a tiny creature strong meds. In that vein, however, maybe an anti-inflammatory would help reduce the swelling and redness? I don't know if they make those for chickens. If the toes fall off on their own, that's good. I'd only worry if the blackness is spreading -which it doesn't sound like it is. Even in that case, an amputation would probably be the treatment, and if she's not using the leg much anyway, it wouldn't bother her much!

Mine that was missing a leg, Una, always sat down when she was little to eat and drink too, and sat a lot more than any of the others. That lasted a couple weeks, until she was strong enough and steady enough to stand (and steady enough). The way Gimpy moved in the video reminded me of her -I bet she'll develop similarly. Keep me posted, I'm really curious!

 

[KK4CWT]

Gimpy's leg is a more normal color today! She's putting her leg down for longer today than she did yesterday. She even curled the toes when I picked her up, the black ones too!

When researching for a brace for her, I hit upon another backyard chicken thread that directed me to a link for chicken podietry. She has a condition called Constricted Toe Syndrome, only its her thigh and not her toe that has the constriction. What seems to have happened is the cord embedded itself into her leg, making it bleed a bit when I pulled the remains of the cord off her. The scab has formed it's own constriction now. So I went and picked the scab off, gently streching her leg and working her knee. When I put her down, she tried to walk on the leg! I think she's going to be ok, at least for today there is cause for hope for a full recovery.

https://sites.google.com/.../poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

This is the website I mentioned. It lists lots of different causes of foot and leg problems and how to treat them. this page is fine, but I do NOT recommend clicking the links. The one I tried was hacked, I had to pull my laptop's battery, restart my computer and tell Foxfire not to reopen that tab to get the racked and fake "microsoft" "warning" to stop. I did bookmark this particular page, I just won't click on any of the links.


Gimpy's toes Sunday evening Gimpy after scab picking and leg streching!

 

[KK4CWT]

The day before yesterday I picked the new scab off her leg, getting cussed out in Baby Chick and pecked at for my trouble. Yesterday she kept acting like she was a poor baby bird. Today she has shaken off the pity party and is using her leg for more than balance! She's bearing her weight on it for very short periods of time. She's face-planted in the feeder and is actively pushing her way through the flock, acting like she's fed up with being run over. She's a joy to watch! I will still keep my eye on her, but she's improving a lot. Oh, and she will certainly loose her middle toe and the tip of her outside toe, but it looks like her leg will be ok. Thank you for the advice and encouragement! I will post a few pictures in a few days.

 

[chippy99th]

That is so awesome to hear! Congratulations!

 

[KK4CWT]

We've had a few surprises with Gimpy. The little buff orphingtion is apparently an Ameraucana in disguise!! Her feathers started comming in white, and her legs got really green and I thought she was in big trouble until I picked up my white Ameraucana chick and realized that while the white chick is the biggest chick in the bunch, Gimpy's legs are the SAME shade of green, and Gimpy is the smallest chick. They look enough alike now to be twins, although Gimpy still acts like she was hatched with the buffs. I've never heard of an Ameraurcana chick being hatched with pink legs that darken later on, but that's what Gimpy did. She is still eating and drinking and pooing, she can bear weight on her bad leg to use her good leg to scratch her face, she gets around fine when she goes slow, but the little huzzy has learned how to run away from me! She's certainly found her legs and uses them, even if her bad leg's knee seems to be frozen. It's still bigger than the other knee, but she's growing and thriving!! All 9 of the chicks are now outside in a coop with a fenced run and doing well.

 

[KK4CWT]

Finally, here are the long-awaited pictures of Gimpy.

I call her Snow White now because she is a pure, snowy white, and definately a pullet. She has a funny gait, but she can run pretty fast, and climb to the top of the fences with the rest of them. All my other chickens have their wings clipped, but I don't mess with hers because I figure she needs all the help she can get. These pics were taking a month ago. I will post more when she's closer to full grown.