Help for chick with broken Ieg?

[Jrzebra]

I have a 6 week old Silver Laced Wyandotte chick with a broken or dislocated leg & I'd like to find out if theres more I can do to help her. I rescued her out of the brooder about a month ago, when I found her smushed by the other chicks in the morning & not moving much. I put her in her own box & she was much improved by the next day. However, she was obviously having trouble with her left leg & would not put any weight on it. She was flopping around a lot, as her little wings weren't developed enough yet to help her balance. But she was alert, eating & drinking, so I decided to see how she did for a few days. I figured, she'd either die or get better by then.
Well, it's been over a month now and I've grown very attached. She started using the leg, but there's still something wrong w/it. She's very good at getting around now- she uses her wings for balance & kind of like crutches. She's in a 2'x 4' brooder now, & she learns up against the wall on her bad side & uses the side of the wall to balance her as she gets around. She moves around using her wings much like a bat does.
I had her in with some younger chicks, but they got too big & started knocking her around, so I moved her in w/younger ones. She likes to cuddle with the others to stay warm, but once they're about a month old they get too rough on her. When they knock her around too much she spends a lot of time flapping & falling over, then I noticed her little wing tips were getting rubbed raw from using them to walk too much. Shes on her 3rd generation of younger chicks now & I make sure theres not too many so she doesnt get overwhelmed or have to compete for food. She eats well & is able to get to the food & water on her own just fine, but she has not grown as much as her original brothers & sisters; she is about 1/2 their size.
I kept hoping she'd continue to improve. Although it doesn't seem like she's in pain when she moves around, it's apparent it is difficult & frustrating for her. She can put weight on the leg, but the leg often gives out under her. She seems to have gotten more control over the leg to a point, but then it stopped improving. Then yesterday, I noticed something quite disturbing: the leg not only bends back at the knee, like the other leg, but it also bends forward. This is why she can't depend on that leg. If she gets it under her correctly, she can sit or stand, but it buckles under her a lot & she ends up flapping & pushing herself sideways. She never cheaps like she's in pain, but it's painful for me to watch.
So I'm having a dilemma here: this little bird is a fighter & obviously has a strong will to live. I want her to live too, but I'm afraid that extending her life is causing her to suffer & not have a good quality of life. Has anyone experienced this before? Is there a splint or a boot I could buy or make for her that may help? So far everything I've thought of only seems to annoy her more. Ive grown very fond of this Ilittle bird, and at this point I have a very hard time thinking she may have to be euthanized after all this, but I want her to be happy & comfortable, I don't want her to suffer. If anyone has had experience with this, I'd appreciate your input on ideas to help her, or whether or not you think she can make it & live a pain free life. Its ok with me if she is just a pet, but I'd like her to be able to live outside someday & be able to get around on her own without injuring herself. Living her entire life in a small tub doesn't seem like much of a life.

 

[Farm life101]

hello welcome to BYC. sorry to hear about your baby. i find the easiest way to help them heal it is to either use vet wrap and hold her leg up to her body firmly but not to tight or use 2 Popsicle sticks to hold it straight and wrap it so the Popsicle sticks stay. I have had better results with wrapping the leg to the body but either way she may have a permanent limp which i have had a few like that and they have a wonderful life you just have to watch them because sometimes the other hens will pick on her. if you do use one of these ways she will have to be by herself or with one that is very gentle. I Hope She Gets Better!

 

[Jrzebra]

Thanks for reaching out. I had about 25 chicks in her batch. The rest are all fine, she's the only one with this problem. I didn't notice any problems with any of the chicks until she was injured in the brooder & then she was almost smothered by the other chicks before I found her. She was less than a week old when this happened. I've been giving her special care for over a month. At first she was in her own box, but now she's in with 5 smaller chicks & has been living with them for 2 weeks.
She's currently between 6 & 7 weeks old, but she's stunted- she's about the same size as a 3-4 week old of the same breed. All of her original brothers & sisters are living in an outdoor coop now & they're all twice as big. I'm assuming she's a pullet b/c the chicks of her same age & breed have started showing sex characteristics & I can tell which ones are roosters now.
Surprisingly, she gets around great on her own in the brooder. She still has quite a limp & sometimes she still falls over, but she's gotten very good at using the wall, or the feeders to help her get around & to lean against & keep her balance while she's eating & drinking. She is free-fed & seems to get plenty of food, but I never see her over-stuffing her gizard like the others. I think it's because it just takes so much more effort for her to move around & get to the feeders; probably why she hasn't grown as much too. I think she'd be able to get around ok outside once she's a bit bigger, but I worry that her limping & lurching around will quickly attract a predator.
The fact that her leg bends both ways is a real problem, and I worry her leg may have healed that way. If there's anything I can do to help her strengthen & secure that leg better, I will try, so please send me some suggestions.

 

[Jrzebra]

House chicken, lol! I've already kinda thought of that, (she'd probably love it), but the husband would kill me. However, we have a large enclosed garage with a breezeway & we already have a "garage chicken". One of our hens decided one day that she's not roosting in the coop with the others at night anymore. She sleeps in the garage now. It works out, because I open the door every morning to feed & close it & lock up at night. So she can free range if she wants. But since I've started giving her food & water in there, she doesn't go far!

 

[Jrzebra]

Thank you. That makes sense, as she had improved quite a bit, but then when the other chicks started to get bigger & more active, she seemed to be getting worse again. I pulled her out after she got knocked in the water & was soaked to the bone. That's also when I noticed she was getting sores on her little bald wingtips.
At this time, her sores are healed & I think she's gotten back to how she was before they started running her over & causing her to move around too much.
She is very healthy and has a lot of energy. This is the best she's been so far, so I can only hope she is still improving. I will continue to keep her contained in a smaller area so she doesn't have to exert herself to get to food & water, and I'll keep a closer eye on her to make sure she isn't being pushed around or stressed by any other chick again.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Sorry to hear about your chick? How many chicks do you have. Is she/he the only one with the issue? It is very hard to deal with a sick or injured chick. I have been keeping birds of one kind or another for over 45 years and I tell you it is hard with the very small ones. Sometimes they are just not right and you have to euthanize. But if the chick seems like it is not suffering, there is no harm in trying to let it heal. Some of the people on these boards have amazing talent when it comes to patching up chickens.... If you can get her to where she can be mobile..... that is the big thing. You cannot have a paraplegic chicken. It would have to be able to get around on it's own power. Otherwise that is just too much to overcome. (in my opinion). Some of the posters will likely have some good ideas about how to assist this chick. Some others will say it is maybe time to euthanize. That is of course your decision to make after you have done what you think is best. Good luck. I look forward to hearing about this chick and welcome to BYC.

 

[Jrzebra]

hello welcome to BYC. sorry to hear about your baby. i find the easiest way to help them heal it is to either use vet wrap and hold her leg up to her body firmly but not to tight or use 2 Popsicle sticks to hold it straight and wrap it so the Popsicle sticks stay. I have had better results with wrapping the leg to the body but either way she may have a permanent limp which i have had a few like that and they have a wonderful life you just have to watch them because sometimes the other hens will pick on her. if you do use one of these ways she will have to be by herself or with one that is very gentle. I Hope She Gets Better!

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any pictures of the wrapped leg, or maybe a diagram? I'm trying to picture the leg vetwrapped to the body: do you bend the leg (the correct way) 1st, then tape it in place with it bent? How long should I leave her wrapped like that? It seems like that would be better for her than to force it straight with a popsicle stick, as she likes to sit with her wings out over the little chicks, playing "mother hen". Do you think there's a chance I can get that leg to the point where it won't bend forward when she tries to walk, (do you think it's not already too late?)
Thanks again for the advice. It does make sense to me that the leg needs to be braced/supported & kept from bending the wrong way, if it's ever going to heal.

 

[Farm life101]

its a very crazy idea but some chickens love it and i don't know if you would but she could become a house chicken depending on the other animals you have. some do good as house pets while others don't and it would take some adjusting. another idea witch can get expensive but also can be inexpensive is to put her on a wheel chair with food and water attached to it. you can look up "chicken wheelchair" and look at the images to give you and idea you would have to D.I.Y it because every chicken is a different size and i'm assuming she will get bigger so you would have to enlarge the current one if you decide to do it. You will also have to be aware of the risk of predators if she will not be an indoor chicken.

 

[Farm life101]

the leg wrapped to the body would look as if she has one leg. you put the leg straight up and use the wrap to go under her wings and around her body. also i forgot to add it in but if she goes in a wheel chair you also need to wrap the leg up either to her body or on the bottom of the wheel chair she would only be in it for a max of 6 moths before healed and out of wheel chair. it could possible be to late but also not, her recovery/treatment would just take longer than normal. if you do decide to do her leg with Popsicle sticks you would have to make sure they stay in place witch can be tricky. How i would recommend doing it is using medical tape to wrap the Popsicle sticks on the sides of her legs and then wrapping it with vet wrap. if you decide this is what you want to do and you need a demonstration let me know and i can send you a video of me doing it (possibly) sometime this week

 

[Farm life101]

haha that's funny.