Guinea fowl

[Anna Johnson]

Hi,we have 10 wk old Guinea fowl and 1 of them seems to be having leg problems.when it lays down it spreads it's legs out and has a hard time getting back up and when it does it's walking fine,eating and drinking fine thought maybe hurt itself flying up on the roost.here,s a video to explain better.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

My avatar is Forrest, Forrest Gump by the way

he has a completely crippled leg from the hock down and I have to trim his nails every so often

but he is 7 years old now and a happy camper

called him Forrest, Forrest Gump because we did try to help him with a leg brace early on - it did not work - but he ran like a champion, even with the brace - reminded me of the movie....

here is is free ranging - you should have seen him during the male chasing days when he was younger - he was racing over the ground like road runner, meep meep!! - swoosh!!!

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

So sorry for your loss. Glad the others are doing well!

Nature does not intend every egg/keet to make it, I think. It breakes our hearts somethines, but there is little we can do about that.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

If you killed it already then ok, I have done it a few times when I did not see any other way

But if you have not, I am thinking give it another chance?

At that age they can heal miraculously. I have a hen called Phoenix because I did not want to call her Gimpy and now she is not lame anymore so I am glad I did not call her anything based on the injury she had. She was also young when she had it.

Watch every day to see if things are getting worse fast or stay the same or give some improvement.

a little vet wrap tape to help the legs stay together (if splayed) has helped a few of my keets to the point where you can't tell now that they once had an issue - had to leave it on for 7 days or so - if you take it off too early and they splay again, just put some tape back on (you can find instructions on this web site, I am sure - vet wrap is wonderful as it sticks to itself and not the skin)

not sure what yours has

it seems older

if it is an injury it may heal

I would examine it to see if anything is broken or if there is pain

I know one woman who amputated a leg (she was a vet tech, I think) and her hen lives and had healthy keets

if your keet is not in danger from predators and the others don't bully it and it does not suffer a lot, I would give it some time

if it is already gone, then ok - like i said, I made that decision before, too, so I understand

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Sounds like you did not see much hope, Anna

Hope you and the rest of the flock are alright either way

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

My avatar is Forrest, Forrest Gump by the way

he has a completely crippled leg from the hock down and I have to trim his nails every so often

but he is 7 years old now and a happy camper

called him Forrest, Forrest Gump because we did try to help him with a leg brace early on - it did not work - but he ran like a champion, even with the brace - reminded me of the movie....

here is is free ranging - you should have seen him during the male chasing days when he was younger - he was racing over the ground like road runner, meep meep!! - swoosh!!!

View attachment 2291044

He’s a handsome guy - and so old! That’s so wonderful that you are able to protect him well enough to live to be that age.

 

[Anna Johnson]

If you killed it already then ok, I have done it a few times when I did not see any other way

But if you have not, I am thinking give it another chance?

At that age they can heal miraculously. I have a hen called Phoenix because I did not want to call her Gimpy and now she is not lame anymore so I am glad I did not call her anything based on the injury she had. She was also young when she had it.

Watch every day to see if things are getting worse fast or stay the same or give some improvement.

a little vet wrap tape to help the legs stay together (if splayed) has helped a few of my keets to the point where you can't tell now that they once had an issue - had to leave it on for 7 days or so - if you take it off too early and they splay again, just put some tape back on (you can find instructions on this web site, I am sure - vet wrap is wonderful as it sticks to itself and not the skin)

not sure what yours has

it seems older

if it is an injury it may heal

I would examine it to see if anything is broken or if there is pain

I know one woman who amputated a leg (she was a vet tech, I think) and her hen lives and had healthy keets

if your keet is not in danger from predators and the others don't bully it and it does not suffer a lot, I would give it some time

if it is already gone, then ok - like i said, I made that decision before, too, so I understand

Yes,they were bullying this one pecking,walking on him/her unfortunately we had to put it down,we have 4 left and free ranging for a week now,they r doing great,very entertaining to watch,

 

[Tre3hugger]

A video would help. What are you feeding them? If not provided a gamebird feed of at least 24% protein Guineas have big strong legs and need the extra protein as keets to help grow them. If you don't have access to gamebird feed, supplementing with some scrambled, or crumbled hard boiled egg could work in a pinch. Hope this helps! I am sure others will be along soon to advise.

 

[R2elk]

We're feeding them turkey feed,suggested from our feed & need store,sorry couldn't post the video, wouldn't take it.they are outside in their run now and like I said it's just when it's laying down has a little bit of a hard time getting up,it's flying up on the roost in the coop.

In order to post a video, you have to first post it on a video hosting site such as YouTube (there are others). Once you have the URL for the video, you can paste it into the message box and BYC will automatically link to the video.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Do you have your method planned? I find a heavy duty bone shear or garden pruner is very quick/efficient./hard to mess up.