I Believe We Need To Put A Chick Down, What's The Most Humane Way?

[kysilkies]

Here's the video:

 

[Schultz]

Hmm, it looks like splay leg to me and I would also be concerned with having a feather footed chick on a cloth covered surface. We believe that was the cause of splay leg in the one chick I talked about. Just my opinion. If it were me, I would try to bandaid her and put her on pine shavings if at all possible. That made all the difference in my girl who is also feather footed.

 

[kysilkies]

We just tried using a sponge with holes in it for her legs that would hold them straight down, the left foot won't even turn to a normal position......When you say bandaid them, I don't understand what you're saying?...

 

[birdicus7]

You should remove her from the paper an put her on pine shavings...no traction on the paper. You can then take a few band aids and tie the two legs together almost like a hobble. Many times the bad leg will heal. It can be caused by keeping chicks on newspaper or smooth surfaces. No guarantee, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Schultz]

http://www.silkiechickens.com/splayed_leg_in_chicks.htm

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3309731
see post 9


I hope this helps!!

 

[kysilkies]

It's actually a puppy pad which is fibrous so their nails and rough surfaces on their feet catch...It's not paper smooth, if that matters...We've never seen one slip on them, again, if that matters...My wife was feeling her while I was putting her feet in the sponge and there is some type of prominent bone abnormality on her left side...

 

[Suechick]

Here's a link that shows how to apply a band aid splint to hold the legs together.

http://www.poultryhelp.com/spraddle.html

I did this with one of my chicks, she recovered and looks great as an adult.

 

[Schultz]

Quote:
Not sure about the pads, but I wouldn't use them, that's just me.
As for the abnormality, that is probably not fixable unless you want a vet bill. I am so sorry to hear this, I want to be hopeful and helpful but if it is a twisted bone, there may not be anything you can do.

 

[zowieyellowflame]

The way that she flails around looks a bit like wry neck. Maybe she has spraddle leg but also wry neck. There are videos of silkies on youtube with wry neck.
I had a spraddle leg chick, I layed her on her back in a tea towel, in my lap lengthwise along my legs so she could not move. Then I did the bandaid thing. It basically keeps the legs from going out to the side. I allowed her to practice standing with me steadying her and after a few hrs she could get up and stand on her own. She is a nice little hen now. The chicken with wry neck was months of hand feeding vitamins, us seeing improvement and then relapses and in the end we had to put her down. My husband chopped her head off.
As far as the gas chamber, I have done it. I put vinegar in a bucket and put a tiny chick that was dying into a tupperware dish. There was enough vinegar that the plastic dish floated with the vinegar in it. I added baking soda to the vinegar and then put plastic over the bucket. 5 min later, I returned and the chick was dead. This method, I had read at the time, is supposed to be carbon dioxide and the chick can just go to sleep. Kind of like people who have carbon dioxide in their homes, they don't even realize it, but it can kill them. We dont do the gas chamber anymore. There is no way to know for sure how it feels.
Last yr, we sent some roosters to freezer camp and seeing this has made removing the head a whole lot easier. I only watch, my husband does it. But it is just so fast and certain. Pretty much immediately, the chicken is dead.
Anyways, I hope things work out for you. It is a very difficult place you are in, especially for a chicken that you have grown so attached to.

 

[sgtmom52]

I don't know what the chicks problem is but the splints for splay leg is worth a try. If you still need to cull her and absolutely cannot use the shears you could try using engine starter fluid made from ether. Put the chick into a small container with a tight fitting lid and a generous amount of starter fluid. Ether was used as human anesthetic for a long time. Be careful as it is also extremely flammable.