First of all, thank you to all who post the great info I've found on this site. We're new to chickens but have loved all 12 days of it so far! We've got an Ameraucana, Australorp, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Silver-laced Wyandotte, Black Sex Link (all growing faster than weeds) and a Barred Plymouth Rock chick who is not doing so well. On her third day late in the evening we noticed a slight limp on her left leg, but thought she had just suffered some minor injury as all the birds had been flapping around a bit earlier. The next day it was a little worse but she was still getting around though she tended to stay in one place.
By the fifth day it was obviously not getting better and she sat most of the time, only getting up to peck a bit of feed or grab a drink or two of water. She seemed to make a lot of high-pitched "cheep-cheep-cheep" noises. Upon examination her left hock joint seemed slightly swollen (somewhat noticeable in pic below). I scoured this site for similar situations and found great information, though no other descriptions fit our problems exactly. No bumble foot, it didn't seem she had any sort of infection or disease, so we started her on some PolyViSol vitamins to see if that would help. About that time I noticed a slightly bare patch on her wing, but thought it just somewhere her feathers hadn't started growing in yet. I have not witnessed any pecking (and seen no signs) and she didn't move much anyway so we just left her in the brooder with her flockmates.
So today is the third day of vitamin treatment with no visible improvement. If anything, she does get up a bit more but seems even more unstable when she walks. Now some new things showing up: that bald patch on her right wing was actually a joint which is now noticeably swollen (see pics below). Also, her right knee seems to protrude higher than the other when she sits, though that could be attributed to all her weight being shifted to her right leg when walking/hopping around. She's not growing well, some of her flockmates are now twice her size!
Here's the questions list:
1) What type of bird , age and weight. Barred Plymouth Rock chick, 12 days old,
2) What is the behavior, exactly. On day 3 noticed a slight limp, day 4 it was more pronounced with increased sleeping, not active like other chicks.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? 9 days
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No, none!
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. Nope
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. She could have somehow hurt herself, or it's just a genetic abnormality.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Purina Medicated Chick feed, tap water; will hobble to feed and drink.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. All seems pretty normal to me.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? ~4 drops of PolyViSol vitamins per day for the last 3 days.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Home treatment only.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. All 7 chicks currently reside in a clear 106 qt. storage tote in our family room. They were on layers of paper towels until day 10 and now are on ~2" of pine shavings.
Just super worried now that this isn't just a sprain that is taking it's time healing. I wonder if it's a genetic defect? It could be gout, but I only see swelling in those specific joints. In any case, it's just weird and really heartbreaking. If she were in obvious pain I would definitely put her out of her misery, but I'd like to give her a fighting chance and would be fine having a bird with disability. How does one determine chicken pain?
Many thanks in advance for help and advice.
(images were here but removed due to stupid spammers
) I'll see if there's any other way to get them to you...
By the fifth day it was obviously not getting better and she sat most of the time, only getting up to peck a bit of feed or grab a drink or two of water. She seemed to make a lot of high-pitched "cheep-cheep-cheep" noises. Upon examination her left hock joint seemed slightly swollen (somewhat noticeable in pic below). I scoured this site for similar situations and found great information, though no other descriptions fit our problems exactly. No bumble foot, it didn't seem she had any sort of infection or disease, so we started her on some PolyViSol vitamins to see if that would help. About that time I noticed a slightly bare patch on her wing, but thought it just somewhere her feathers hadn't started growing in yet. I have not witnessed any pecking (and seen no signs) and she didn't move much anyway so we just left her in the brooder with her flockmates.
So today is the third day of vitamin treatment with no visible improvement. If anything, she does get up a bit more but seems even more unstable when she walks. Now some new things showing up: that bald patch on her right wing was actually a joint which is now noticeably swollen (see pics below). Also, her right knee seems to protrude higher than the other when she sits, though that could be attributed to all her weight being shifted to her right leg when walking/hopping around. She's not growing well, some of her flockmates are now twice her size!
Here's the questions list:
1) What type of bird , age and weight. Barred Plymouth Rock chick, 12 days old,
2) What is the behavior, exactly. On day 3 noticed a slight limp, day 4 it was more pronounced with increased sleeping, not active like other chicks.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? 9 days
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No, none!
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. Nope
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. She could have somehow hurt herself, or it's just a genetic abnormality.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Purina Medicated Chick feed, tap water; will hobble to feed and drink.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. All seems pretty normal to me.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? ~4 drops of PolyViSol vitamins per day for the last 3 days.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Home treatment only.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. All 7 chicks currently reside in a clear 106 qt. storage tote in our family room. They were on layers of paper towels until day 10 and now are on ~2" of pine shavings.
Just super worried now that this isn't just a sprain that is taking it's time healing. I wonder if it's a genetic defect? It could be gout, but I only see swelling in those specific joints. In any case, it's just weird and really heartbreaking. If she were in obvious pain I would definitely put her out of her misery, but I'd like to give her a fighting chance and would be fine having a bird with disability. How does one determine chicken pain?
Many thanks in advance for help and advice.
(images were here but removed due to stupid spammers
) I'll see if there's any other way to get them to you...
