HELP!! SILKIE CHICK WON'T USE ONE OF ITS LEGS!

[besorto]

I need help ASAP. An 11 day old silkie chick i ordered from Ideal Poultry suddenly can't put pressure on one of its legs. The chick is currently in a separate brooder from the others (another silkie, 3 turkens, and a golden comet) and I feel as if it might have gotten hurt rough housing with the others. No blood from what I can see, and it just topples over onto its side to avoid using it. Also hops around on one leg. Any help would be much appreciated, my son already thinks his little friend has died.

 

[Dawnclucks22]

I need help ASAP. An 11 day old silkie chick i ordered from Ideal Poultry suddenly can't put pressure on one of its legs. The chick is currently in a separate brooder from the others (another silkie, 3 turkens, and a golden comet) and I feel as if it might have gotten hurt rough housing with the others. No blood from what I can see, and it just topples over onto its side to avoid using it. Also hops around on one leg. Any help would be much appreciated, my son already thinks his little friend has died.

Separate it in case it's not an injury. Poultry can be tricky and it's best to be on the safe side. Are they vaccinated? Best wishes.

 

[besorto]

Separate it in case it's not an injury. Poultry can be tricky and it's best to be on the safe side. Are they vaccinated? Best wishes.

Thanks for responding! The chick is separated, and none of them are vaccinated. I'm not a fan of vaccinating them, so even my older girls are shot free.

 

[Loz McGaffin]

Hi . Have you checked the bottom of her foot. If u see lumps,that may look swollen,it could be bumble foot.which can be a common ailment. Just google for ways to treat.Or sometimes small stones or other debris can get between the flesh of the toes(just gently extract with tweezers.) Hope this helps.sorry i have no other ideas.x

 

[Loz McGaffin]

Hi . Have you checked the bottom of her foot. If u see lumps,that may look swollen,it could be bumble foot.which can be a common ailment. Just google for ways to treat.Or sometimes small stones or other debris can get between the flesh of the toes(just gently extract with tweezers.) Hope this helps.sorry i have no other ideas.x

P.s..if all else fails,call ideal poultry. All your girls should have been healthy at piont of sale.they may be able to help too! Goodluck☺

 

[besorto]

P.s..if all else fails,call ideal poultry. All your girls should have been healthy at piont of sale.they may be able to help too! Goodluck☺

They were all healthy when they got here, even the silkie. It's the smallest chick in the brooder, so I was thinking it probably got trampled by the other chicks.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

They were all healthy when they got here.... It's the smallest chick in the brooder, so I was thinking it probably got trampled by the other chicks.

It also may have come down with Merak Disease. Is it smaller than it normally should be at its current age? If so that is not a good sign.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm normally the first to suggest Marek's, but at 11 days old it would be extremely unlikely. I would recommend you rig up a little chicken sling or hammock for it. I've seen it done with a tea cup for chicks. Basically a container with fabric stretched over the opening and 2 holes cut in it, one for each leg and a third hole for poop to drop through... takes a bit of figuring out to get the poop hole in the right place. Food and water can be clipped to the edge of the container..... below is an adult version but if you do a google search, you will find plenty of other options...

 

[besorto]

Woke up to the little one all stiff. Looks like it just wasn't strong enough.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm so sorry you lost it but perhaps it was for the best. It is hard for deformed chicks to keep up and survive with healthy normal chicks and isolating them to give them special attention and keep them safe is no real existence for a social flock or herd creature. Still very sad, but at least it saved you having to make a potentially difficult decision.