Need Help with a New Hatch!

[lgetz12]

We just hatched our first chicks in our incubator. Three were fine, but one seems to have a problem with it's leg that we cannot find help with online. Hoping someone may have seen it before or know how to treat!!

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry, you haven't received a reply. A little hard to see the leg, but from what I'm gaining there is obviously swelling and is rotated to some degree. Do you think you might be able to get a picture of her trying to stand on it?

There are several musculoskeletal deformities that may occur in chicks; varus-valgus, perosis (slipped tendon), and several vitamin/mineral deficiencies that could be responsible. If the chick was malpositioned during the incubation period, that may have messed with the leg substantially. Especially if considerable swelling is present, these problems may be hard to correct and may result in lifelong damage. If the rotation is significant you may consider euthanasia.

If you would like to proceed/attempt with treatment and see how it goes, you may try and add some poultry vitamins in the chick's diet considering if the problem was related to a genetically passed-on mineral/vitamin deficiency. External coaptation, slings, padding are some additional treatments you could try, and see if they work. Here is some additional info:

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