I think their legs are broken- pictures included

BreannaCS

Chirping
6 Years
May 1, 2013
7
0
57
Georgia, USA
We have recently acquired a couple of chicks, about a month old. We got them when they were just a few days old and soon realized that something was wrong with their legs. We took them to the vet. The vet said that they had an immune deficiency and it could be cleared up with an antibiotic. We gave them the antibiotic but the condition has gotten worse. So here is what we're working with.



chicken 1 (circled in yellow in first picture)- bowed out legs. barely able to walk, stumbling

chicken 2 (circled in red in first picture) - one leg seems dead and he just drags it around behind him

chicken 3 (circled in blue in first picture) - stands on one leg while the other is held up like the leg of a flamingo

chicken 4 (circled in green in firs picture) - growth on the neck, about the size of a gumball, that is causing the chicken to turn his head almost upside down.

This picture is of chick 3. I circled her curled up leg. She still has feeling in her foot and she hops around pretty well. I'm just worried about when she gets older and bigger.



This picture is of chick 1. I circled his legs in the splayed position. The picture is rotated a little funny. the leg on the right is actually the left leg and vise versa.



We're just not sure what to do with them at this point. The vet doesn't seem to think that much can be done. We don't want to end any life but we also don't want them to be suffering.

any thoughts or ideas on how to make their quality of life better or how to proceed otherwise.

*** someone did mention spraddle leg syndrome in a recent post, however, their legs seem to be fused in the position their in now. If there is anyone in the Atlanta area reading this and you think you could give some hands on help I would greatly appreciate it.

 
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If it comes to that I will. However, we don't put crippled children 'out of their misery'. We try and do what we can to rehabilitate them first. I don't know that there is a way to give them a good quality of life, but I don't know that there isn't a way either. I just want to make sure that I'm considering all possible options.

They are all eating and drinking just fine. I'm watching them enough to know that they are not starving or dehydrated.
 
If it comes to that I will. However, we don't put crippled children 'out of their misery'. We try and do what we can to rehabilitate them first. I don't know that there is a way to give them a good quality of life, but I don't know that there isn't a way either. I just want to make sure that I'm considering all possible options.

They are all eating and drinking just fine. I'm watching them enough to know that they are not starving or dehydrated.
Stop comparing crippled children with chicks...that's nonsense. Cull the chicks, they probably have Marek's disease.
 
Wow how sad, it does sound like it could be Marek's. You could have the sickest one tested to be sure. If its a vitamin deficiency you could try avian super pack see if that helps. If you have other chickens I would be worried they could get them sick.
 
It is very weird that all of them have the same basic problems, which makes me think it is most likely Marek's too. Even though they are eating and drinking, they do not seem to be able to have a real chicken life and like others suggested, I think you cull them. If you have other chickens definitely make sure you are disinfecting everything and changing shoes or shirts before you go out there. Merek's it a horrible degenerative disease that causes them to suffer for a long time before they finally die.
 

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