please look--would you treat as for spraddle leg? chick not standing.

[haTHOR]

ok, my chicks were born yesterday and day before yesterday. one has an issue where it sits down and gets around by spinning in a circle mostly. i looked up spraddle leg and those pictures showed chicks that looked like they were doing something more like the splits...legs out to the side. my guy's legs are in front of it, not to the side. but he can't seem to get up on them.


i tried the spraddle leg fix just in case and he couldn't move well at all then.

front and side view

this is what i did that did not help him at all..he just stayed flat down on his chest the whole time.

 

[haTHOR]

any ideas? i hope to fix it up before bed tonight, as we have to be gone for several hours tomorrow and i know it's important to fix these things early as possible...

??? i'm a little worried.

 

[Ms.FuzzyButts]

It looks like you may have it's feet a little to close together. I would relax the splint just a tad. I did have one do the very same thing (not exactly spraddle) and I splinted it too. It took him a couple of days to figure it out. I had to help it over to the food and water in the meantime. It is the weekend, but I will try and keep tabs on this post.

 

[haTHOR]

thank you for your reply!

so, you think i should treat it like spraddle leg though they do not go out to the side...does it take some time once the "splint" is on correctly for the chick to begin to stand up properly, then? perhaps i should be more patient?

this chick is VERY chubby, by the way! perhaps that has something to do with it.

i'll try splinting the legs again with a bit more room between. thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Ms.FuzzyButts]

Yes, it may take a couple of days for it to walk properly. As to whether or not you should treat it as spraddle even if it isn't, I do not know. I can just tell you that I did and it worked out ok.

 

[haTHOR]

did you need to separate him or her from the rest when you did it? my chick seems to be able to get around much at all (for heat regulation, or to get out of the way of pecky chicks). my others are bigger and a day older, and they seem to peck more when he's falling over, etc. due to the splint. as of now, he can sort of "lay low" and get around by moving his feet independently, though not getting up of his arse to do so...hard to describe. i guess i'll splint in the am when i can keep a close eye on him or her. maybe giving more room between the legs as you suggested will allow more movement and stability.

thanks!

 

[Ms.FuzzyButts]

I didn't seperate them. They were all the same age though. But one days difference shouldn't matter either. The others will peck at him as mine did. It was probably more of an aggravation to me to see it happen, than actually harming or hendering the chick. I just kept picking it up slightly, but only high enough that it's feet were still touching the floor and letting him hold most of it's own weight.. And also just stretching his legs out straight from time to time just to keep the muscles working. Sort of like physical therapy I guess. I did that for 3 or 4 days if I am remembering correctly. I was about to give up when VOILA... he got the hang of it. So hang in there!!

 

[NellaBean]

I had a couple cochin chicks that sat rocked back like that.....they were normal within a couple days. They just seemed to take a really long time to get their "sea legs" so to speak. I think I put them on shavings instead of a potty pad and that seemed to help as their feet would sink down in the shavings a little bit and kind of automatically go into the right position....I did not splint....

Not sure if its the same or not.....that chick still looks a bit damp..maybe it is just one of the last hatches and a bit slow to "thaw out" from being in the egg?

 

[77horses]

One of our baby chicks that hatched yesterday has been sitting back on her butt like that, too...Rather than standing on her legs. But I think it's normal because we've had it a couple times, the chicks just seem a little wobbly and so they sit back on their butt until they can learn to use their legs properly. Our chick is starting to come out of it now...She's been wobbly, but now she's learning to walk with her legs more. And she hasn't been using a splint. So I would say that you could try it without the splint and see if he will try walking on his legs, which he most likely will try if he wants to. Sometimes newborn chicks take longer than others to learn to balance on their feet properly, and while they're learning, they'll clumsily hobble around on their butt until they get their feet under them.

 

[AkTomboy]

Im glad I found this post I got a chick that is about 34 hrs old who is doing the same thing...Ill just wait it out like yall did and hope it works