Is it a slipped tendon?

[JessWithChicks]

We are raising our first set of baby chicks so this is all new to me. I've done extensive research but I just can't put my finger on our little chick's problem...

We have an 11 day old Silver Laced Wyandotte who is limping around. One leg is perfectly normal and the other she holds up close to her body. The toes on the "bad" leg are curled up. She doesn't seem to have much control over this leg. The joint is swollen a bit and a little on the red side but doesn't feel hot to the touch. Most of the symptoms seem like a slipped tendon but what about the curled toes? This came on all of the sudden, no prior indications of a problem, at the age of 8 days old. She seems to be eating and drinking as usual and likes to hop around but gets tired and needs to rest. I have her in the brooder with the other chicks but in a separate box as the other chicks peck at her limp foot and use her as a launching pad. I tried stretching the tendon, rolling it with my fingers, etc. but really don't feel much when I do so. The only time she seems to be in pain is after I fiddle with her leg.

Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Judy]

Maybe this will help:

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[JessWithChicks]

Thanks much! I've tried everything this article lists short of adding vitamins. I'll grab some while in town tomorrow. Not holding out much hope for the poor little puff ball.

 

[JessWithChicks]

I'm please to announce that lil Gimpy a.k.a. Itty Bitty is doing GREAT! For those of you with a chick with similar problems, here is what I did:

First I rolled the hock joint between my thumb and index finger as others suggest to see if I could feel a popping (slipped tendon popping in and out). I did feel something but it wasn't really a pop. This made it hard to wrap because I had to guess if the slipped tendon was back in place. I made my very best guess then wrapped the joint with horse wrap. I kept her leg wrapped with it's natural bend. I've read that you don't want it to be straight for too long or it will cause a deformed leg. I kept it wrapped for a week straight but did change out the wrap 2-3 times that week. I also did tendon stretches (while wrapped and also anytime I changed the wrap) three times a day for that week. Research tendon stretches on this site if you don't know what those are. I added vitamins to her water as well. I've read that Vitamin B12 and E are very important for leg health. I kept chicky in a long skinny box inside the brooder (be very careful if you do this) to keep her from getting trampled by the others. She was able to hear the other chicks and not get lonely and a couple of the other chicks could jump in for a visit as well. At the end of the week I took the wrap off and she finally was putting pressure on her bad leg and her toes finally uncurled. I was so very excited but did notice she walked funny on that leg. She kinda held it out away from her and held it kinda straight when she walked. Two days after that she was walking completely normal, no swelling in her joint, no limping and had no troubles running around with her little friends. To this day she is smaller than the rest of the chicks (6 weeks old) and doesn't have as many feathers as well as seems to sleep a little more but she seems to improve each day in these areas. I wasn't into the whole chick chair thing but I wanted to give her my very best try before culling. So glad we didn't give up on her!

There's our story. Hope this helps someone...

 

[Areeba]

Hmm....happy ending

, hope the chick is enjoying good health..I need Ur help regarding my polish chick approx 8 weeks old having some problems in walking. she sits alot moves a bit.there is some kind of swelling or hard lumps around her hock joints or upper leg.so is it slipped tendon, mites, gout or some internal injury.how can i help her??
Thanks,
Regards
Areeba.

 

[JessWithChicks]

This is our first set of chicks so I don't really have any experience to offer you. From my very limited knowledge I would say it sounds like a leg injury or slipped tendon. Our chick was much younger thus much lighter so she did a lot of hopping around on one foot. Ours too had some weird feeling whitish looking lumps around the hock joint along with swelling but never any heat from the joint. I think it sounds like it could very well be a slipped tendon. I would start doing the leg stretches just in case (if your little polish will let you) to keep the tendon stretched until you get a handle on the situation. You don't want those little legs to grow and not the tendon or there is no fix. Also, when I did the stretches on our chick she seemed to enjoy them. They weren't painful at all and she didn't resist either. If yours resists it might be painful which might mean a leg injury or something else going on. Make sure to check their feet all the way up to her hip for any signs of pain or injury. I would also go buy some vitamins for her water. B12 and E are supposed to be super for leg health. I purchased "Vitamins & Electrolytes" in a small container with yellow and red on it from our feed store. The brand is Durvet. Just put the dose in their water.

I wish you luck. Keep us posted on your little chick. Hopefully you too can have a happy ending with your polish. Btw, I suspect our gimpy chick is actually a boy...

 

[Areeba]

Hmm....thanks!! I have started stretches and a warm salty water bath... I am so happy to tell you that she is looking good today . she is walking and chasing her friends . but still she has the lumps on her hocks and shanks.she walks well but fell down to her right side while chasing or running, Hope she will be perfectly fine soon!!!
Thanks
Regards
Areeba

 

[JessWithChicks]

Great news! Have you opened up a new forum asking people what might be going on? There are so many experienced people on here with a lot of knowledge to offer. It's worth a shot to find out what those lumps are.

Happy healing...