Limping Chick

[FlocksOfFluff]

My RIR chick, about 4 days old, has a limp that I noticed about 2 days ago and has gotten a little worse since. The leg looks perfectly normal. It has some dark veins, but nothing that looked particularly problematic. I noticed just now that there is a small, hard bump on his belly on the same side as the limping leg. He is growing pretty well but will not stop chirping at all until he goes to sleep, and is a lot louder than any other chick I have had. Should I be worried about the limp? Will he maybe grow out of it?

 

[azygous]

Can you post a picture of the lump on the belly? It may or may not be connected to the limp.

You need to look very closely at the toes, also the bottoms of the feet. A toe or foot injury can be very hard to see on a tiny foot, but it can cause a lot of pain and a baby chick won't want to walk on it. And unlike adult chickens, a baby chick makes plenty of noise when it is in pain or is uncomfortable in any way.

 

[FlocksOfFluff]

I examined the foot again, but it really looks perfectly normal. The limping has gotten slightly better and when I checked this morning he was eating and was a lot quieter than yesterday. You cannot see the bump at all, but sorry about the picture quality. The limp is in the right side.

 

[FlocksOfFluff]

It looks like the limp is worse today. I checked on him this morning and he would barely put any weight on his foot at all, but he is quieter. He looks a few days younger than he is, and is growing very slowly. I don't want to worry unless he starts going backwards though. I do not think the bump is connected to the limp. Any thoughts on how I could help him, or should I just monitor and keep my hands off? He is about a week old today.

 

[Strong86]

We had a chick that this happened with almost three weeks ago and it was a slipped tendon - also around 3 or 4 days old. We did some googling around to diagnose it and the woman we bought the chicks from was able to get the tendon back in place. IF this is the problem... Our little guy was still able to get to food and water without problems so he was growing at about the same rate. Then we did some pretty intensive chick PT with the poor little guy for the next week. This included stretching the leg out 3-7 times a day, and having him/her stand in a teacup (for 15-30 minutes at a time) to work on posture and strengthening. (s)he's doing great today - 4 weeks old, and you can hardly tell anything was wrong. Sometimes he's a little more wobbly, but he's practicing roosting and stretching all on his own now. Hope that's helpful. Not sure it is what is wrong with your little one, but worth looking into.

 

[FlocksOfFluff]

Thank you for the advice! I do not think he has slipped tendon. I can feel the tendon and it feels like it is in the correct place. He is limping but the foot is not splayed inward or out an it feels and looks perfectly normal. I am starting to think it may have been a toe injury. Some parts of the skin on his foot look a little funny, like human skin would while peeling after a bad sunburn. Do you think his leg muscles could have just been underformed? Maybe he was helped out of his shell unnecessarily. He fights when I pick him up but he calmed down when I tried stretching his leg, so I think I might do PT anyway. Even if he does not have a slipped tendon, hopefully this will help his leg and make him less skittish around me. When I pick him up he will run and flap his wings to try to get away. Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

 

[FlocksOfFluff]

Also, what does standing in a teacup do?

 

[bjurbrat]

My RIR chick, about 4 days old, has a limp that I noticed about 2 days ago and has gotten a little worse since. The leg looks perfectly normal. It has some dark veins, but nothing that looked particularly problematic. I noticed just now that there is a small, hard bump on his belly on the same side as the limping leg. He is growing pretty well but will not stop chirping at all until he goes to sleep, and is a lot louder than any other chick I have had. Should I be worried about the limp? Will he maybe grow out of it?

I was reading it could be mites would make them limp I would dust it with food grade diatomaceous earth it cuts the mites in half I have a baby polish I thought was a roo because the crest was crazy but looked like the other babies girls so I dusted her on her head under her wings and legs for a couple days now she's gorgeous

 

[bjurbrat]

I was reading it could be mites would make them limp I would dust it with food grade diatomaceous earth it cuts the mites in half I have a baby polish I thought was a roo because the crest was crazy but looked like the other babies girls so I dusted her on her head under her wings and legs for a couple days now she's gorgeous

Sorry dust all the babes if 1 has it they all do I also put it in there bedding so when they fluff around it gets there belly and butt too hope this helps ❤

 

[FlocksOfFluff]

Thank you for the advice!