Please help my chick with a bad leg/foot

[kittyacid]

Please, I just picked up my babies and the Bantam brahma has a bad foot. She is trying to hold it up and hops instead of walking like the other chicks. It doesn't look deformed, but when I looked at her two feet, this one does not seem as rigid or splayed as the other one. What do I do?

 

[kittyacid]

I'm about to have a nervous breakdown worrying about this little guy.

 

[kittyacid]

Okay, here are pics - can anyone help?

 

[ChooksChick]

Was it always like this- are you just seeing it?

It may be just that it was a tight fit in the egg and got twisted at the end of development. It's not uncommon to have a hatch-defect like that.

You can take a piece of card-stock or cereal box and center it in the sticky part of a band-aid, cut off from the gauze part. Then put it under the foot, so that the card is smaller than the length of the toes, with the foot spread as though it's standing on it. Then put the other sticky part of the band-aid on top, so that the toes remain separated.

This little orthopedic shoe should help it gain the proper use of its foot, assuming it's not an injury. Even if it is injured, you may need to splint it like this anyway.

Change it out each day, giving it a few minutes to see if it still needs work. It may only take a couple of days.

See this thread, as it's recent and has a pic- I had to finally use this trick myself!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=196609

 

[kittyacid]

Thank you. I just picked her up at the post office this morning, and she was like that when I opened the box. The bigger chicks were stepping on her and I thought maybe she got injured, but I don't know for sure.

So if I am understanding correctly, the sticky part of the bandaid goes only on the top of the foot and on the bottom of the foot is the piece of cardstock with the bandaid on the floor side?

 

[ChooksChick]

Yes, you want the cardstock smaller than the sticky part, and that way the two will sandwich with a bit of stiff reinforcement.

This also works with curled toes.

If she's holding it up, it may be injured, so be extra careful- it's kind of hard to wrangle a tiny baby foot to start with. You may even give her a day to rest before the struggle of the shoe assembly. Shipping is very hard on them- you can decide how perky or stressed they are first.

I give mine some scrambled eggs and a little yogurt before and after I have to mess with them- if full they are more docile, and a treat after helps them relax.

 

[kittyacid]

Okay, got it. I will wait a day, since I am as nervous as if I was doing surgery on the little gal! They seem so tiny and fragile. I just got some Poly-vi-sol (no iron) and will give her a couple drops of that. From reading the posts, it doesn't sound like it will hurt anything.

 

[ChooksChick]

Vitamins are good, and nutrients all-around in any form- get that starter into the little boogers! Some people recommend sugar-water right after getting them to get the energy up and stress-hormones down.

 

[kittyacid]

She holds it up, but the foot is definately twisting outward and the toes are a bit curled. Poor thing. I gave her the Poly-vi-sol and she sat a gaped or gagged for a bit, then I dipped her beak into the water and she drank a bit I think.

 

[ChooksChick]

You might just put a few drops of the poly-vi-sol into their water and let them drink it innocuously. I think it may taste yucky.

Let her sleep well, and take a gently look around the foot and leg tomorrow. If you don't see improvement by midday, get the stuff ready to apply and then get her when it's all set. Be very gentle, but keep a grip on her- they wiggle and flail and make it hard, but if you're prepared, you can get it on and settled quickly.

It may help to have a person hold the chick and leg and have another person apply the orthopedic shoe. I wanted 2 or 3 more hands.

Good luck, and keep us updated!