New (splayed) bantam chick

[GallusGal]

I went to TSC to look at fencing options today, and in addition to coming home with a badly aspirated chick that was flipped on its back in a waterer, I also wound up with a little bantam with badly splayed legs. I looked at some tutorials online and decided to go with the simplest method of tethering the legs in the right position (rather than formal splints for such a tiny bird), though I used vet wrap instead of band-aids. So far it is working like a charm! The little guy went from barely being able to scoot along on his hocks, to standing, walking, and eating. He's thin from probably having trouble reaching food, but now that he's up and walking I suspect he'll do OK.

I had a question though: how long do the legs generally need to be kept tied together before it is safe to remove them? The only time I dealt with this was splinting an older bird with rickets, and it was years ago so I don't recall how long it took.

 

[hennyannie]

I just kept them on for a couple days and then took them off and if the chick still look splayed out I put them back on. I am still watching this one, Idont think she is going to completely look like her sisters ever. Last year I got a bantam at TSC that the others were draging around by its toe, it was bleeding. I had to amputate its toe later.