older chick w/ splay leg?

[bossfrog]

one of my bantam silkie chicks is about two weeks old and has splay leg. got her at 2 days old and immediately started on hobbles and hand feeding. took her to the vet and they said the prognosis was iffy. she cries almost constantly and i’m afraid i’m only prolonging her suffering by trying to keep her alive. she can walk/flap/stumble around. she’s about the size of a golf ball and a third the size of the other chicks. i take the hobbles off regularly to ensure they aren’t too tight and her leg has improved a little. should i keep trying? is there anything i can do for her? sorry for the long first post. i’m attached to her

 

[Meandmyhens3]

one of my bantam silkie chicks is about two weeks old and has splay leg. got her at 2 days old and immediately started on hobbles and hand feeding. took her to the vet and they said the prognosis was iffy. she cries almost constantly and i’m afraid i’m only prolonging her suffering by trying to keep her alive. she can walk/flap/stumble around. she’s about the size of a golf ball and a third the size of the other chicks. i take the hobbles off regularly to ensure they aren’t too tight and her leg has improved a little. should i keep trying? is there anything i can do for her? sorry for the long first post. i’m attached to her

Usually splay leg isn’t a big problem. When caught early the recovery is quick an easy with a brace on(taken off of occasionally like your doing) from anywhere to 24-48 hours and they’re legs should be ok. How long has she had the brace on? She should be able to make walking attempts with the brace on and practice walking, is she doing that?

 

[bossfrog]

Usually splay leg isn’t a big problem. When caught early the recovery is quick an easy with a brace on(taken off of occasionally like your doing) from anywhere to 24-48 hours and they’re legs should be ok. How long has she had the brace on? She should be able to make walking attempts with the brace on and practice walking, is she doing that?

she’s had the brace on for ~1.5 weeks. she’s walking around and even hopping occasionally, albeit very clumsily. her bum leg is the right leg, it also has one curled toe- forgot to mention it.

 

[Meandmyhens3]

she’s had the brace on for ~1.5 weeks. she’s walking around and even hopping occasionally, albeit very clumsily. her bum leg is the right leg, it also has one curled toe- forgot to mention it.

Hmm that’s pretty long, I beleive with the brace as long as the curled toe is kept straight most of the time it should solve that, otherwise you can get a firm material and structure it to her foot so the toe stays straight. Splay leg isn’t a death sentence, as long as she can eat and drink she’ll be fine for now, but obviously you can’t keep that brace on her forever. I don’t know why she might be smaller. Is she eating and drinking as she should be? Sometimes you just get a runt though, I’ve had two runts before and they were much smaller than the others but are normal now. If you have a scale I suggest weighing her, if she loses any more weight I think another vet visit would be best. Annd (sorry it’s a long post) I say keep going with the brace it’s really (as far as I know) the only thing you can do for splay leg.

 

[bossfrog]

Hmm that’s pretty long, I beleive with the brace as long as the curled toe is kept straight most of the time it should solve that, otherwise you can get a firm material and structure it to her foot so the toe stays straight. Splay leg isn’t a death sentence, as long as she can eat and drink she’ll be fine for now, but obviously you can’t keep that brace on her forever. I don’t know why she might be smaller. Is she eating and drinking as she should be? Sometimes you just get a runt though, I’ve had two runts before and they were much smaller than the others but are normal now. If you have a scale I suggest weighing her, if she loses any more weight I think another vet visit would be best. Annd (sorry it’s a long post) I say keep going with the brace it’s really (as far as I know) the only thing you can do for splay leg.

i had a little “shoe” on her made from plastic packaging for a bit, i’ll put that back on. she’s eating relatively well, i think she’s a little sad because she can’t keep up/cuddle with the other chicks. i do think she’s a runt, and as well as being a bantam she’ll probably be pretty tiny if she survives. i’m mostly worried about the pain she’s in and whether it would just be cruel to keep her going. i’ll weigh her and post her weight asap.

 

[Meandmyhens3]

i had a little “shoe” on her made from plastic packaging for a bit, i’ll put that back on. she’s eating relatively well, i think she’s a little sad because she can’t keep up/cuddle with the other chicks. i do think she’s a runt, and as well as being a bantam she’ll probably be pretty tiny if she survives. i’m mostly worried about the pain she’s in and whether it would just be cruel to keep her going. i’ll weigh her and post her weight asap.

Her little shoe sounds perfect for her toe. And as far as I know her splay leg problem shouldn’t be painful. It might not be the most comfortable to have a brace on but she shouldn’t be in any pain. It’s much easier to treat splay leg as a chick but it’s also possible to treat when they’re older. It’s unusual for her leg to not be fixed yet but keep on going with the brace and allowing her to hop around when it’s on.

 

[bossfrog]

Her little shoe sounds perfect for her toe. And as far as I know her splay leg problem shouldn’t be painful. It might not be the most comfortable to have a brace on but she shouldn’t be in any pain. It’s much easier to treat splay leg as a chick but it’s also possible to treat when they’re older. It’s unusual for her leg to not be fixed yet but keep on going with the brace and allowing her to hop around when it’s on.

awesome, thank you for all the advice! will update this thread. everything i had read before pretty much said “if it’s not fixed after a week, it can’t be fixed” so it’s great to have some hope

 

[bossfrog]

update! she’s 36 grams. she’s not crying 24/7 anymore and when she does peep, it’s in a calmer, happier voice. she’s eating, drinking and walking around. hopefully she continues to improve. her legs without the brace are still slightly splayed but she can walk without it.

 

[Swbertrand1]

update! she’s 36 grams. she’s not crying 24/7 anymore and when she does peep, it’s in a calmer, happier voice. she’s eating, drinking and walking around. hopefully she continues to improve. her legs without the brace are still slightly splayed but she can walk without it.

What are you feeding the chicks (all of them)? What do you have for material on the brooder floor for them to get traction and build their leg muscles? Is the problem chick eating and drinking?

 

[bossfrog]

What are you feeding the chicks (all of them)? What do you have for material on the brooder floor for them to get traction and build their leg muscles? Is the problem chick eating and drinking?

all of them have purina non-medicated start&grow. i have wood shavings as substrate. she is eating on her own and i’m working on getting her to drink by herself. i’m hand feeding and watering her as well until i can be sure she’ll do it on her own. they get grubblies (dried soldier fly larvae) as treats but not very often.