My splay legged baby isn't thriving!

[pnp4kidz]

What do I do?
She is about 5 days old now, and in the bandaid splint for 3 days.
She is half the size of the others... but wont' stay in a small box so they stop stepping on her... she climbs out.
what do I do?
I have more hatching this week any day now, can I put her with them? or keep her with the big ones?
is there anything I can do to help her grow and get stronger?

 

[KattyKillFish]

since it seems she doesn't like being alone, i would take a few of the smaller chicks and put them in with her. you seem to be doing a good job so far

you should be able to put her in with the hatchlings as well if you give them enough time to fluff out and start being more energetic.

this is my opinion anyway. if anyone disagrees with me, PLEASE SPEAK! i will be learning something, constructive criticism is a good thing!!

 

[Ryu]

Keeping it with a few smaller chicks sounds like a good idea.

We use rubber band 'hobbles' for our splay chicks. A small rubberband with two small loops knotted so they are on opposite ends. Stretch the loops to get them over the feet, and wahla! It is light and flexible, but just enought tension to keep their feet under them.

How does the chicks legs look?

 

[Jenski]

When the hobbles weren't working, we took a splay chick out on an old piece of bathroom carpeting and had "chick therapy" - - we encouraged her to walk, walk, walk. Soon she was walking on short carpet, and soon after that she started mastering other surfaces. But we had to get her up several times a day and get her walking (without a splint). That deep carpet gave her the traction she needed to get up and moving.

The sooner the better . . . good luck with your chick!

 

[pnp4kidz]

the legs look fine, the left one just went out to the side and she didn't stand up...
then I put the bandaid on like the thread said, with the guaze in between the legs...
and voila! she stood up! cool!
she walks, but sometimes stumbles and if the others come over, she just sits down.

the others have long wing tip feathers now, like 2 inches long.... and she just has 1/2 in long feathers starting,
and she is half their size... but she seems to be fine still tonight...

thanks!

I'll leave on the bandaid until she is stonger, might try the chickie PT... lol!!!!

 

[silkiechicken]

In the end, if the chick doesn't pick up and do it's thing within a week or so, the splayed leg could have been an external defect while the chick may have had internal defects you can't see. If it looks like it may not be thriving and falls too far behind or gets weak, I would consider culling. If the bird does make it, I would not use it for breeding.

I've had splayed legs chick recover, and have had others culled due to failure to thrive.

 

[KattyKillFish]

i never cull a chick before giving it a good chance. only cull if it seems to be in VERY bad condition. how many days old is it?

 

[pnp4kidz]

Thank you...
I'm not sure I can just kill it...
if it dies, then so be it.
The chick is 7 days old now, they hatched last Thursday night.
She is sweet as pie, and quite perky, just not as big, and gets bowled over a lot. she has learned to squat down when they come running.

No matter how much I try to move her somewhere away from the others, they follow her! then run over the top of her... argh...

well, second batch of eggs should be pipping today or tomorrow, they were set three weeks ago friday night...
so, she should have some little buddies soon!

 

[KattyKillFish]

I HAVE AN IDEA! seperate her from the rest in the same box by a piece of clear plastic! that way she can have re-assurance and won't get trampled!

also, i would encourage you to take her out a few times a day and try to get her to walk. use treats, food, nudging. i've had many splay leg chicks and took almost 2 weeks to recover, but i've never had a single on die on me! just be sure you don't let use her for breeding if she makes it.

good luck! i hope she'll be okay!

 

[Chickapooh23]

Quote:
I had a chick that didn't do well last fall. Feathering was a big deal for this chick also. I read on www.albc-usa.org that chicks that are like this have small or narrow feathers and do not retain heat as well. They are smaller and not great producer because so much of their energy goes to body heat...etc. This seems to be the case with this cockerel. I am going to cull him when I get a chance. He has never fully feathered out and is smaller then his sisters at about 18 wks. He seemed to be very sickly when he was young I separated him several times and hand fed him. If I had it to do over I would not have. I would have let natural take it course the first week.

I would keep the hobble but I am not sure if I would go through heroic measures if it gets sick. It will just make it harder later.