New chick with foot facing upwards Please HELP

[tonibadgerschicks]

Hi

We have a new chick hatched (incubator) on friday. Its leg is twisted round so that the foot faces upwards. The foot is not curled. The poor baby is just hopping around on one leg and is being picked on by the other chicks.

I have tried to seperate it but it just cries and is happier with the others. It is eating and drinking and growing well.

I have tried to make a splint but this just made the leg stick outwards.

Is their anything I can do? If the chick can lead a happy life then I want to help it. I thought maybe keep it in with the quails who are smaller and gentler than the chickens. It is in with the quail chicks now so is used to them.

Any advice would be greatly apreciated as I am worried about this chick.

Toni

 

[Firework]

Would you post a photo, it will be easer to tell what you mean if we can see it.

 

[tonibadgerschicks]

ok here goes

 

[tonibadgerschicks]

I am sorry they are so blured, I only have my phone camera available. If these are not clear enough let me know.

I really hope this chick is able to be kept alive. I cant bear the thought of it ceing culled because of a disability.

Toni

 

[wlrcad]

im not sure..... i hope she makes it! but if u have other hens make sure they treat her nicely other wise she could die of being pecked by other hens... thas a terrible death too... all deaths are terrible... im sorry, i no how it feels to lose a loved one... my life is devoted to chickens and a fox got two of them...

i wish u luck!!!

 

[wlrcad]

or.... maybe u can put her in a glass pen so she can see her frends and not b pecked on
!!! hope u find a way!!!!!!

 

[jthayerkatz]

It is not completely clear what exactly the deformity is here. Is the leg itself inverted or is the chick just not able to put the foot down in the correct position?

If the leg is formed properly, I would try to use the credit card treatment, this is where you cut a credit card (old or outdated prefferably) to the size of the chicks feet and tape (bandaids work great) the feet to the top of the card. Kinda like a snowboard. the one good foot together with the bad so that it can hop more than walk. I just had to do this for my polish with spraddle leg and after 6 days I removed the splints and she was using both legs now at 2+ weeks she is totaly normal.
Whatever you are going to do, I suggest you do it now because if it continues to develop in the wrong position you may never be able to correct it.
Keep us posted

 

[Billy7871]

jthayerkatz... I tried the band aid thing with a newly hatched chick that could not move its legs and for the life of me I could not quite get it. I searched this forum all over and looked at picture after picture but to no avail could I seem to get it. My niece and I tried a couple of times because every time the chick got flipped over on its back it couldn't get back over. It couldn't walk. or even stand in the makeshift splint out of band aids. I figure it had spraddle leg but couldn't get anything to keep the legs close enough together and after an entire evening of distress peeping I just couldn't stand it any longer. I think what you are describing would have worked better so could you please explain it a little better so that I can better visualize it.

 

[Billy7871]

edited to delete double posting

 

[tonibadgerschicks]

Hi thanks for your replies.

The leg is twisted back on itself at the first joint after the foot (knee area) It is set hard. I did try splinting it but the joint is so twisted that I could not get the splint to hold.

I am going to keep this chick with the quails. It is with quails chicks now and has been since hatching. The chick will be a heavy bird as its a Le Fleche so should be able to hold its own against the quails. This is my first an only group of quail so I figure if I just keep them together they should all be happy.

Toni