need advice on chick leg injury

[Mammachix]

We hatched 8 eggs in my daughter's fifth grade classroom, and on day 3, one of the chicks was dropped by a student. We put her in isolation and she seemed okay, but was holding a leg gingerly. I have had chickens for less than a year, so just watched her for a week, hoping that since she was so young, a possible fracture in her leg would heal within a week or two.

Unfortunately, she started moving around after a few days, but over the past week, the injured leg is twisting out to the side. It started to look like splayed legs, with just one leg. I suspected a slipped tendon after reading a lot of old posts on the subject, and tried to see if I could slip the tendon back into place. Unfortunately, I think it is too late. The tendon is too tight after growing that way for a week, and it doesn't stay when moved (if indeed this is the problem, it's very hard to be sure!).

For the last five days she has been hobbled and at night I tape her feet together and place her in a deep bowl to sleep. This is based on advice from other posts and a podiatry-chicken website. At this point, within the hobbles, she is still able to get around, but that leg is definitely rotated out to the side.

She is strong-spirited, eating well, and otherwise thriving. I hate to have to cull her, but don't want her to be in pain.

My question is...is it possible for a chicken to grow up with a slipped tendon and still be a happy hen? Our ladies free-range under the care of a very adept rooster and are penned securely at night.

Thanks for your advice and experiences!

 

[GoldenChicks16]

Can you post pictures so we can make sure that, that is what it is? I'm sure it's a leg injury of some sort due to the fall but it could have multiple causes such as a dislocated joint at the hip, a dislocated leg, and other things. A picture sure would help us diagnose this.

 

[BantamLover21]

Can you post pictures so we can make sure that, that is what it is? I'm sure it's a leg injury of some sort due to the fall but it could have multiple causes such as a dislocated joint at the hip, a dislocated leg, and other things. A picture sure would help us diagnose this.

Agreed.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Agreed.

X2

 

[Mammachix]

Here are some photos of our little chick. When we took the hobble off to see how she is doing, she does seem better, but the foot still twists out sideways.



These first two pictures are what she looked like a week ago. Below are the photos after one week of hobbles.










This last picture shows her swollen hock on the right foot. Her name is Salt, and you can see her standing next to her brother, Pepper. At night we tape the feet together and put her in a towel in a bowl. I'm not sure if we should continue doing this or not, or even how long we should keep her hobbled for. I emailed a few other people who had submitted posts in the past year about their lame chicks, and two of them were kind enough to respond. They still have their hens, one lays, one does not, and they both seem able to hop along on one leg, just favoring the other. Salt does put pressure on the leg, at this point it just seems to be that it wants to turn out to the side.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[Mammachix]

bumping myself in the hopes that someone will look at new photos and give ideas.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think she has a slipped achilles tendon or perosis. Here is a helpful sight to treat leg and for problems in chicks: https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[BantamLover21]

I think she has a slipped achilles tendon or perosis. Here is a helpful sight to treat leg and for problems in chicks: https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

Agreed.

 

[Mammachix]

Hi, thanks. Yes, that is a good site. Unfortunately for this chick, as I explained in the first post, I'm not able to move the tendon back into place, as it was about ten days before I realized that she had a slipped tendon and it wasn't just a broken leg. Thus, I am looking for anyone's help in trying to figure out if the chick, even if lame, can live a productive life. I'm worried that as she grows heavier, she won't be able to support her weight.

Thanks.