I guess I'll call him "Stumpy"...

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I want to share with you all THE MOST BIZARRE THING that has happened here on the hill.
In a group of week-old chicks hatched first week of May, I had one limping with a swelled leg. Checked it out and didn't see anything wrong, so I put it back in the brooder. The little one kept limping and the swelling got worse, so I finally dug around where the swelling was the worst and there was a hair wrapped around it's leg and the skin had grown over it.
I was able to get the hair unwrapped and out with a razor and tweezers. The swelling went down and the chick was getting around fine with just a bit of a limp.

Fast forward to this morning and those are about 14 wks old...
I was feeding them this morning and that youngster came running from across the pen (it's always been a little runty with a limp). Looked like it stumbled then jumped right in with the others at the feeder. I kinda glanced over to see if it tripped over something and there was its foot and lower leg laying on the ground! It's LEG HAD FALLEN OFF!
It broke clean OFF right where the hair had been wrapped when it was a little chick. It was the dangedest thing I ever saw!
There was no blood from the stump until after I caught him and then very little and it stopped right away.
So, I guess I'll call him "Stumpy".
I've got him inside so I can keep an eye on him and it's super-soggy, wet and muddy outside.
But isn't that just the dangedest thing?

Lisa

 

[hencackle]

Poor Stumpy. I have heard a hair getting wrapped around a caged bird...guess it could happen to a chick too. What a shocker that must have been to see that youngster lose it's leg like that!

 

[X2Farm]

Well aint that somethin

I prolly woulda just sat there, dumbfounded, after seein that

Least he's alright

 

[crtrlovr]

anyone who's ever been on a pediatric rotation has probably seen something similar to that, too. It's not uncommon for babies or toddlers to come in w/ a blue-black finger or toe that's been strangulated by a hair. (there's another name for it, but right now my brain is not cooperating...) Cut off the blood supply to anything for long enough, and it will die. Sounds like that's what happened with your chick. Hopefully it will make a full recovery and adapt to the loss of its leg.

 

[BC Gal]

Wow that is really bizarre! Maybe you could fashion a spring leg or peg leg for him - will he be able to get around on one leg?

 

[mangled]

Quote:
Hair Tourniquet Syndrome

Good luck with you little chick.

Em

 

[redhen]

poor thing! He must have been in some pain...

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
Hair Tourniquet Syndrome

Good luck with you little chick.

Em

That's it! Thank you!

 

[chickenbuddy0]

HI, sorry to hear that. Poor guy. How can hee get around on one leg ? On another note..... I'd love to see pictures of your projects. You always have such cool looking birds!!!

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! Thanks! "Hair Tourniquet Syndrome" --- I didn't know there was such a thing!
The day before and for a week after I pulled the hair out of the chicks leg, I gave it aspirin in its water (to help with pain and inflamination, hopefully) and disinfected with alcohol. Iodine and Blu-Kote are the only things I use for wounds here. There wasn't much else I *could do* at that point except pinch its head off. When the swelling went down, I put it back with the other chicks. I thought it would just always have a limp. It was roosting with it's hatchmates and using the leg --- til today!
He's got 'almost' the whole leg --- the part he lost is about from just above where a spur would be and down.
I caught him up right away and wrapped him in my shirt-tail, and was standing by the pen still looking shocked and befuddled when my husband walked back in the yard. He asked "Oh no, what's wrong" and all I could do was go-guppy --- I couldn't even talk til I got 'Stumpy' disinfected and comfortable in the house. To add a bit of humor, the ducklings in that pen thought the 'foot' was a fine toy to play with til I took it away.
ChickenBuddy0, I'm ready to go back to hatching more me-ish chicks. Won't be long.

Lisa