Injured leg?

[takuhlm7]

Hi there! I'm new here and just brought some new chicks home 2 weeks ago today. I have one dixie rainbow (3 weeks old) that, as of yesterday, stopped using her right foot completely. At first, we thought maybe it was her wing due to her holding it away from her body when being picked up/sitting/not being able to sit upright. Now we're thinking instead, that that has to do with the foot being injured and that she's trying to use it for better balance. We separated her from the other chicks last night (except for 2 more of our smaller dixie rainbows in with her). And this am, she seems to be a little bit better. I.e. using her other foot for more traction while holding the injured one up from the ground, being talkative, etc. We did give her a dose of aspirin this am as well along with syringe watering every couple hrs (she has been having difficulties hobbling over to get food/water since. Basically, I just want to ask some other voices and if anyone's had anything similar happen to one of their babies? Is this something that can and will be fixed on its own? Is there anything at all I should try to do to help her? Or is it fair to even let this persist any longer, and would humane euth be the best circumstance? I feel bad for her and don't want her to suffer. Thanks in advance for any helpful insight!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Can you post a picture, please?

Have the chicks been vaccinated against Marek's disease? With her wing, has she always done that? There's a slight possibility that she was hatched that way and will need a hobble to fix it. If a hobble cannot fix it, there's a possibility she's just handicapped and needs special care.

When you gave her the Asprin, did she start moving her leg more and using it? If so, then I would say that she has an injury. That being said, avoid giving her the Asprin because she could injure her leg further. (That I learned from another member on BYC.) Gently run your finger over both legs, feet, toes, and thighs. You're looking for any swelling or signs that something is out of place. While you do that, watch and listen to her reaction. She will tell you if it hurts by her behavior and vocals. If you find that something is out of joint, then you'll need a vet to surgically put it back in place. If it's just an injury, you'll need to keep her off of that leg as much as possible until it heals. (About two weeks to three months on heal time depending on the injury. If this is an injury, I'm thinking closer to two weeks.) Out of injury and something out of joint, I'm leaning more toward injury.

You can create something for her to keep her off that foot. Using something elevated, (on adult birds, some might use a tote), have a secured cloth over it. Cut two holes in the cloth for her legs to go through. (Make sure it's sturdy and that she can't touch the ground.) Have a tray of both food and water in front of her at all times. Keep her in that until she's healed.

 

[takuhlm7]

Can you post a picture, please?

Have the chicks been vaccinated against Marek's disease? With her wing, has she always done that? There's a slight possibility that she was hatched that way and will need a hobble to fix it. If a hobble cannot fix it, there's a possibility she's just handicapped and needs special care.

When you gave her the Asprin, did she start moving her leg more and using it? If so, then I would say that she has an injury. That being said, avoid giving her the Asprin because she could injure her leg further. (That I learned from another member on BYC.) Gently run your finger over both legs, feet, toes, and thighs. You're looking for any swelling or signs that something is out of place. While you do that, watch and listen to her reaction. She will tell you if it hurts by her behavior and vocals. If you find that something is out of joint, then you'll need a vet to surgically put it back in place. If it's just an injury, you'll need to keep her off of that leg as much as possible until it heals. (About two weeks to three months on heal time depending on the injury. If this is an injury, I'm thinking closer to two weeks.) Out of injury and something out of joint, I'm leaning more toward injury.

You can create something for her to keep her off that foot. Using something elevated, (on adult birds, some might use a tote), have a secured cloth over it. Cut two holes in the cloth for her legs to go through. (Make sure it's sturdy and that she can't touch the ground.) Have a tray of both food and water in front of her at all times. Keep her in that until she's healed.

Can you post a picture, please?

Have the chicks been vaccinated against Marek's disease? With her wing, has she always done that? There's a slight possibility that she was hatched that way and will need a hobble to fix it. If a hobble cannot fix it, there's a possibility she's just handicapped and needs special care.

When you gave her the Asprin, did she start moving her leg more and using it? If so, then I would say that she has an injury. That being said, avoid giving her the Asprin because she could injure her leg further. (That I learned from another member on BYC.) Gently run your finger over both legs, feet, toes, and thighs. You're looking for any swelling or signs that something is out of place. While you do that, watch and listen to her reaction. She will tell you if it hurts by her behavior and vocals. If you find that something is out of joint, then you'll need a vet to surgically put it back in place. If it's just an injury, you'll need to keep her off of that leg as much as possible until it heals. (About two weeks to three months on heal time depending on the injury. If this is an injury, I'm thinking closer to two weeks.) Out of injury and something out of joint, I'm leaning more toward injury.

You can create something for her to keep her off that foot. Using something elevated, (on adult birds, some might use a tote), have a secured cloth over it. Cut two holes in the cloth for her legs to go through. (Make sure it's sturdy and that she can't touch the ground.) Have a tray of both food and water in front of her at all times. Keep her in that until she's healed.

Thanks for the quick reply on this matter! You provided a lot of helpful information for me to be thinking about. None of the chicks have been vaccinated against Mareks. I am willing to do so if need be to help prevent the others from this, but so far, all of my others are perfect in every which way! I've noticed with others, including this one, that while lying down, they like to stretch those wings out sometimes. That's part of my thinking this ones is an injury as maybe it got trampled on by the rest at one point?

We didn't notice any immediate improvements with the aspirin, but then again, we did go ahead and put her back in her box to rest. She's up and moving now though (holding that leg up of course). Its still a big improvement from last night but I definitely won't be giving her any more aspirin to prevent any further injury!

I'm definitely going to go ahead and manhandle that foot and figure out what I can make to keep her comfy while she heals though.
Thanks so much for the insight these pics aren't the greatest as she had that rest and seems to be putting a little? More weight on it now!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Thanks for the quick reply on this matter! You provided a lot of helpful information for me to be thinking about. None of the chicks have been vaccinated against Mareks. I am willing to do so if need be to help prevent the others from this, but so far, all of my others are perfect in every which way! I've noticed with others, including this one, that while lying down, they like to stretch those wings out sometimes. That's part of my thinking this ones is an injury as maybe it got trampled on by the rest at one point?

We didn't notice any immediate improvements with the aspirin, but then again, we did go ahead and put her back in her box to rest. She's up and moving now though (holding that leg up of course). Its still a big improvement from last night but I definitely won't be giving her any more aspirin to prevent any further injury!

I'm definitely going to go ahead and manhandle that foot and figure out what I can make to keep her comfy while she heals though.
Thanks so much for the insight these pics aren't the greatest as she had that rest and seems to be putting a little? More weight on it now!

Looking at the pictures, it's definitely an injury. That's good that she's putting more weight on it. That is, unless it's only the Aspirin kicking in. One thing that can be helpful to her if you're keeping on her feet is to have newspaper bedding instead of something like shavings. That way her flooring is more steady with less chances of her tripping while on one foot. (You will need to clean out her pen more often so she doesn't get dirty though.)