Help / Advice on bent ankle

[DossFunnyFarm]

Help / Advice: I have a chicken born/hatched with a crooked foot. I have tried braceing but this is more at the ankle. Pictures are attached, it walks around on it . Is there anything else I can do? our incubator went out went Irma came though so it got cold and we only hatched out 2 of 20 eggs, this is at the ankle joint, the toes are fine, they just look curled in picture but are not, its the bent ankle Iam worried about. it looks like it was broken but it came out of egg that way.

 

[azygous]

How old is this chick now? It appears to be feathered out so it may be past the age where it's possible to correct this problem. Maybe
WVduckchick
will be by to tell us if something can be done.

 

[DossFunnyFarm]

How old is this chick now? It appears to be feathered out so it may be past the age where it's possible to correct this problem. Maybe
WVduckchick
will be by to tell us if something can be done.

ya i was told she might be too old to fix, she is a batum 2/3 weeks old, we have tried right away to splint the leg to help but it was bent at an odd angle when she came out of the shell, the brace/splint helped some but its still bent really odd, hubby thinks I should put her down so she doesn't have a hard life but Id like to save her if I can. our chickens our pets that give us food, but we dont take to vets as its cost alot . If nothing else if she would be fine the way she is, as i would put her in the yard with the rest till she was alot bigger. & I have another one fizzle & a sliky I have to help up on the roost every night as they cant fly.

 

[azygous]

You wouldn't be the first on here that caters to a disabled chicken. I've had my share, too. One had so many special privileges, I felt like a professional chicken care-giver. The special bond you have with such a chicken makes the extra work worthwhile, and the chicken will usually blossom in unusual ways from the extra care.

I also had a hen who was lame from a bad foot, and she learned to get around just fine on one leg. Your little one will likely surprise you at how well she learns to get around in spite of a gimpy foot.

 

[azygous]

@WVduckchick can you come take a look at this chick with a bent leg?

 

[WVduckchick]

Sorry, been offline all day today, and still just on mobile, so i can't really tell much from the pics. almost looks like a hip issue to me though.

Check out this page, especially the section on slipped tendon:

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

And I'm copying this description of a process that may help. I don't think it could hurt at this point to try it.

Here's what I would try if it were mine. Hold your left hand out, palm up, fingers toward the right, in front of your chest. Lay the chick's belly in your left hand, feet pointing back toward your body, overhanging your pinky finger/palm. Grasp the feet and legs between your right thumb and forefinger. Slowly lower your left hand (kinda bowling ball or lawn-dart starting motion) and let the bird dangle for just a few seconds. Twist your wrist outward, and the bird's reaction should be to lift its head/chest/body upward toward your hand. (keep your hand under, but not touching, and don't drop her! lol) When it does, you can re-grab the body. This will sometimes "reset" a slipped hip or knee joint. It won't hurt the bird, and I would think its worth a try.