Help please! Quail chick's leg in funny position

[EmilyBerry]

Please help!
I have a quail chick that needed help out of its egg as it had been pipped with no progress for a day and a half and had become shrink wrapped in. I removed some shell and it pushed out so I left it in the incubator to dry. When I left it it was okay and moving around in the incubator like the rest had done. But when I went to check on it later in the day its leg was stuck straight out in a funny position and it will not bend it. I left it alone until the next day (today) as I assumed it would come right over night but checking this morning it hasn't and it still hasn't dried. I don't know what to do as its not drying and its leg looks like its in a backwards position and I don't know how to help.
Could it have injured its leg in some way in the incubator or could it have splayed legs but in just one leg?
Please help!

Here is a photo of the chick for reference,

 

[Debbie292d]

It's covered in albumen (egg white).

I would get a cup of warm water and have a soft cotton wash rag or paper towel handy. Place the chick in the cup and use the rag to gently wipe it over, ensuring that you wipe its face to clear its nostrils. This should only take a minute. Pat dry the chick with dry towel or paper towel, and you can blow-dry it on low being careful not to get it too hot. Then, put the chick back in the incubator, turned down to 95°F (provided there are no other viable eggs in there. If so, leave it at 99.5°F).

After it dries, it will be able to move around now so you'll see if that leg goes back to normal. If not, and it stays, you'll need to bind the legs with a strip of vet wrap.

 

[EmilyBerry]

It's covered in albumen (egg white).

I would get a cup of warm water and have a soft cotton wash rag or paper towel handy. Place the chick in the cup and use the rag to gently wipe it over, ensuring that you wipe its face to clear its nostrils. This should only take a minute. Pat dry the chick with dry towel or paper towel, and you can blow-dry it on low being careful not to get it too hot. Then, put the chick back in the incubator, turned down to 95°F (provided there are no other viable eggs in there. If so, leave it at 99.5°F).

After it dries, it will be able to move around now so you'll see if that leg goes back to normal. If not, and it stays, you'll need to bind the legs with a strip of vet wrap.

Thank you very much, this is very helpful and I will do that now. Is there a certain temperature the water should be or just warm? There are two other eggs but it is day 20 now and there has been no movement so I think they have died.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you very much, this is very helpful and I will do that now. Is there a certain temperature the water should be or just warm? There are two other eggs but it is day 20 now and there has been no movement so I think they have died.

Just warm, about the same temp the chick is, or if you have a thermometer, 95-99F is good.

 

[EmilyBerry]

Just warm, about the same temp the chick is, or if you have a thermometer, 95-99F is good.

Thank you this definitely helped, he is a lot dryer now. His leg hasn't improved but he is really trying to move around with his other but he can't stand. He can move the joint connecting his leg but his knee joint seems to be stuck out in place.
This is what he looks like now,

 

[Debbie292d]

I would see if you could manipulate that a little and maybe it'll go back into its socket. If not, leg binding should work. I'd wait until he's a bit stronger and trying to move around. It doesn't hurt to leave him in the incubator.

 

[EmilyBerry]

I would see if you could manipulate that a little and maybe it'll go back into its socket. If not, leg binding should work. I'd wait until he's a bit stronger and trying to move around. It doesn't hurt to leave him in the incubator.

Thank you so much, your advice is very helpful and has really reassured me. He is very active but he just can't stand. If I was to bind his legs should I also put him in something to keep him upright like a small glass or make a chick chair?

 

[Project Blue]

I think problems like this the early you intervene the better. A narrow mug or cup with paper stuffed in to get him the right position might help, but vet wrap and manually getting it into the right position is essential. In my experience any chick orthopedic actions needed should be done right away while bones and things are soft and floppy. I had a much older rooster somehow pulled his leg out of socket something like your chick. I didn't intervene quick enough and it calcified requiring a break to get it right. Your chick might just need overnight restraints and then the next day make sure he has good traction and no obstacles or other chicks to deal with for a day or so. I would make a slurry of cooked egg yolk water and little sugar and dip his bill into every hour or so. Just a dip being careful not to aspirate him.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you so much, your advice is very helpful and has really reassured me. He is very active but he just can't stand. If I was to bind his legs should I also put him in something to keep him upright like a small glass or make a chick chair?

I have dealt with splayed legs probably a dozen times, and the first thing is to leave them in the incubator until they are completely dry. Many times, myself included, we're pulling them out too soon. Secondly, once it's determined they have splayed legs, on go the bindings, and I do not put them in anything. They learn to walk with them. It's sad at first as they will fall over several times but just walk away. You'll come back a few hours later, and there they are hobbling around. I leave those on for around 24 hours. Then take them off and let them run around without binding for an hour or so, then back on again if needed.

In one extreme case, maybe much like yours, we did stretch a sheet across a plastic frame we made by cutting a plastic kitty litter box. We used box clips to attach the sheet, then cut holes for its legs and pooper. We used bottle caps for food and hung a vertical nipple bottle for water, and placed all of that in the brooder so that its feet could just barely touch the floor. In the end, we found binding did a better job so just went back to that. She took two weeks.

We had another chick jump up there to sit with her.