PLEASE HELP! Young chick can't stand or walk without help!

[kuntrychick]

I hatched out 12 in all. 11 are absolutely fine & thriving (gave 7 of them away), but the one I'm asking about was the last one that hatched. It is 2 weeks old today. I don't know what else to do for this baby. I've searched & searched the Internet & forum & haven't found anything quite like this.

This chick can't stand up or walk. It will try, but then falls over to its side (usually the right but sometimes the left). It kicks its legs trying to get up & sometimes does. He wants to be with the others so bad. I have him in a shoebox in the watermelon box brooder. He's gotten so used to that small space that he can manage to get up & lean on the side of the box (to his right) and walk to the little food dish I have in there for him. Then, he will lose his balance while eating & fall.

When he falls, he scoots around in a circle.

I tried the spraddle/splay leg bandaid treatment, but that isn't his problem so not sure if it would help. He can move better without it than with it.

He is extra hyper too...constantly chirping, wanting to get around but can't. Sometimes he will jump/fly into the watermelon box of shavings and really just goes uncontrollably in there. When he walks a little, it's VERY fast steps, then falls and scoots around in circles really fast (almost like a propellor or something & the wood shavings fly around everywhere & he has this little circle area totally cleared out where he has scooted around.

I've tried various things...the bandaid hobble, sav-a-chick in water, poly vi sol vitamin drops, Vitamin E, a little crushed Vitamin B12 sprinkled in his food, yogurt, egg yolk. I even bought bird vitamins and been giving him that some instead of the poly vi sol.

I've been doing "physical therapy" on him...practicing walking, trying to get him to slow down & let him get his balance first & get the right footing, but then when I let go, he falls quickly or he VERY FAST runs...not walks in an uncontrollable manner...never know where he's gonna go. If I happen to touch him on his right side when I think he's about to fall, that will make him go to the right like that uncontrollably & then he falls.

At first it was like he had right side weakness...because he kept his right wing tucked all the time, but now he spread his right wing.

Nothing really looks wrong with his feet or legs or hip bit not totally sure. I know now I'm afraid he's going to get his right foot deformed if this goes on...from him twirling himself in that box, evidently using his right foot to turn & turn, now it seems like his right leg & foot turns a little inward....like his hips might not be aligned right, but not sure.

When I hold him, bracing his back for him to walk, he's just trying full blast to walk but I'm trying to get him to get his footing first. I notice he will end up walking sideways to the left and his right foot will get on top of his left foot and he'll get them all jumbled up & then fall.

He's a feisty little hyper fellow. He eats & drinks ok (I have to take him to water cause I don't want him to drown n it.

Anything anyone can suggest? All appreciated.

 

[kellysmall87]

I don't know what to do about this situation apart from suggest that maybe he's got a broken leg or something?
If not, then maybe this is how he is. Maybe its a deformity. You have done everything in your power by the sounds of it. I personally, would continue doing what you are doing and wait til it's older and see what happens. Most people would say cull it now but I couldn't. Maybe someone will post who knows what this is.

 

[kuntrychick]

Thanks for the reply. I hope someone does come along that has had this happen & could give me some ideas as to what to try.

I forgot to mention that I took him to my local vet the other day (just a regular vet...no bird or chicken specialist here) & he said that he thinks it's neurological...that he thinks the legs are not the primary problem...that side of his brain...something about nerves & that he may or may not grow out of it. He didn't do any x-rays or anything. So, I'm still back at square one with this little fellow.

I too think it is something related to nerves, as I said, he was keeping his right wing tucked closely, as if he didn't realize he had it, but now that his wing feathers are coming in, he can flap them & even jump/fly out of the box.

If the little fellow was weak & me having to force food & water down him, I could understand to cull him (even though I myself couldn't do it...would have to get hubby to), but this little guy is FEISTY & has a strong will to live.

I've wondered if it could even be a bacterial issue or something maybe requiring antibiotics. As I said, he was the last one to hatch & a little late, so all the rest of the chicks hatching...all the left over yolk sac things...afterbirth/after hatch remnants were in the incubator with him, plus a lot of the chipped away egg shells we're down in the water chambers in the bottom of the incubator contaminating it, so the moisture in the air maybe was contaminated & went through the pores of his shell ???

Also, some of the others that hatched of course were flipping & flopping all over the rest of the unhatched eggs....sounded like they were playing ping pong or something in there with the eggs...lol. I'm thinking that could have affected his position in the egg or something... ???

I'm just trying to think of everything...not sure what to do from here.

 

[Vyraal]

It could be a case of wry neck, sounds similar. I've lost quite a few chicks to it. Add a couple small drops of poly vi sol without iron to its water and hope for the best is all I can say, my experience is still limited.

 

[kuntrychick]

It could be a case of wry neck, sounds similar. I've lost quite a few chicks to it. Add a couple small drops of poly vi sol without iron to its water and hope for the best is all I can say, my experience is still limited.

Thank you for replying. I thought wry neck was crooked neck? His neck isn't crooked at all, however when he eats & drinks he does this funny little thing with his head sometimes, but I just thought it was because of the position I would get him in to eat & drink & he thought he had just developed that habit...thinking that's what he is supposed to do to eat & drink.

As for poly vi sol, I've been giving it to him & even vitamins for birds. I wasn't sure how much to give...I've seen from a drop or two on their beak to a drop or two in their water to 1/2 a dropperful, etc. I didn't want to give too much, but wanted to give enough to be effective.

I switch up between poly vi sol (given directly on beak) to the bird vitamins in water (which I use some of to make a mash of his starter). I've also been giving a little crushed up B complex in his food sometimes & about every other day or so a little bit of Vitamin E on his beak. I've also been giving him egg yolk & yogurt. He eats heartily. I just can't leave water in with him because I'm afraid he will drown.

 

[kellysmall87]

It does sound like neurological, maybe he didn't manage to break thru his egg quickly enough and there's a bit of brain damage there from the starvation of oxygen.
Keep on doing what you're doing... as long as he wants to live then let him.

 

[kuntrychick]

It does sound like neurological, maybe he didn't manage to break thru his egg quickly enough and there's a bit of brain damage there from the starvation of oxygen.
Keep on doing what you're doing... as long as he wants to live then let him.

Thanks. Yeah, I'm trying to have patience with him & just don't know what else to try. It is taking up a lot of time dealing with him. I have not even had much chance to play with or bond with the others that hatched (gave 7 of them away) because of tending to him along with everything else that I have to tend to. (I even had to get hubby to put down a sick old hen the other day that wasn't getting any better). I just wish I knew what to do for him. I just want to cry every time I see him trying so hard...it just breaks my heart.

 

[terryp82]

Hi,

I am in Australia and we are currently experiencing a long run of 30 degree C and hotter days.

I have had the same problem with the last of the eggs from 3 of my clucky Barnevelders which hatched chicks naturally. I got 11 out ok but the last two have the same problem you described ie; fluffy, healthy and noisy but cant stand or walk and end up on their back.

I have consulted a couple of breeders who have kept birds for 40 plus years and their comments are:

1. It could be a dehydration problem caused by lack of humidity in the nest. (this could be possible given the heat we've had its so warm that the hens don't even have to sit on the eggs for them to hatch). People with incubators will know about the importance of humidity and fertile eggs.

2. The chicks have been in the egg too long and are over done. I conclued that this has caused some kind of brain damage. I don't know why they exceed the 21 days.

I have tried rehydrating them as one would do with a heat stressed person but I think its a lost cause because the damage is done.

I hope these comments help.

Regards

 

[jschroed5186]

What happened? I'm having the same exact problem!

 

[midwest farmer]

We had the same issue, laid on its side for three days, we put its beak in water and it drank a little but would not eat, we then tried band-aiding its legs together but it was unable to get up so that was no solution. after three days we decided to make a sling out of a woman's nylon hose, we cut 5 holes for it head, wings and legs and then suspended it while letting it feet touch flat footed on the floor. We now were able to hand feed and water it. In the sling it kicked and spun, everyday we let it down to see if it could stand, on the 4th day it was standing but wobbling and falling over, we then let the sling down to put more weight on its legs, after another day it was standing. We took the sling off next day and it would stumble and fall forward and get back up again. After a week it was walking with a halt, now 2 weeks later it has made a full recovery.