Poor Button Chick with leg out to side..

[little-beep]

My littlest button, Grumpy-Pants is half the size of the others it's age but starting to grow... But yesterday suddenly his or her leg splayed. I couldn't understand why until today when I was watching the buttons and suddenly the eldest male puffed all up like he does when he wants to mate with his girlfriend....but instead of going for the girlfriend, he went over to where poor tiny Grumpy was laying with leg all splayed out and tried to jump on her!! (I'm assuming this behavior means Grumpy is a SHE ?) ... i immediately reached in and grabbed little Grumper who is now in a blankie on my chest making tiny 'trilling' sounds now and then.

-- how do I fix it the leg? (other than taking this teenie chick away from the bigger ones)
--- The leg SEEMS red and inflamed but all of this is so new to me...

... But yesterday this same little one had a bleeding 'back' claw nail on that foot -- so is it a leg injury or could a sore claw cause the splaying?

photo below:

 

[Nabiki]

I'm guessing that this is an injury, since it was fine until now. I'm not a vet, so take my advice with some salt. It doesn't look broken, but, to be honest broken would probably be easier to deal with than a tendon or joint injury, which this might be.

Unfortunately, the small, under developed chicks are more likely to get injured and are more fragile in general. I hate to say this, but I think your choices are to take it to a vet or to cull.

 

[FloorCandy]

Can you check for a slipped tendon? Hold the wonky leg with the hock (knee) between your thumb and index finger like you are pinching a pencil. Roll very gently like you would if you were to roll a pencil between your fingertips. If the tendon has slipped it will snap back into place. However, this issue often repeats over and over.

A male mating or jumping doesn’t mean it’s a hen, they all do this to each other as chicks. It could be the larger chick injured the small one, but with buttons, I’ve found they will lay in an area with a slippery floor, fall asleep with a leg out, and next day they have splayed beyond repair. They are so delicate and sensitive and their metabolism is so fast, a quick nap in a bad position can cause permanent damage.

An example I learned first hand, I’ve raised Coturnix for a while and never had this issue. The little water bottles I use, snap perfectly into the brown plastic Talenti ice cream lids. This keeps the bottles standing upright and provides a small reservoir in case of leaks. But the tiny chicks like to lay in the lid next to the water because chicks like to feel the lip of the bowl and the bottle around them. I was finding day 4-5 I would have chicks start splaying, when usually they’re out of the woods by then and you can start relaxing. Eventually I figured it out, and I trace the lids onto a paper towel and cut a little paper towel liner to put in them, and haven’t had the issue since. I also put a paper towel in the lid I use for feeding, because they kick the food out and lay in the slippery bowl, causing the same issue.

 

[little-beep]

Can you check for a slipped tendon? Hold the wonky leg with the hock (knee) between your thumb and index finger like you are pinching a pencil. Roll very gently like you would if you were to roll a pencil between your fingertips. If the tendon has slipped it will snap back into place. However, this issue often repeats over and over.

A male mating or jumping doesn’t mean it’s a hen, they all do this to each other as chicks. It could be the larger chick injured the small one, but with buttons, I’ve found they will lay in an area with a slippery floor, fall asleep with a leg out, and next day they have splayed beyond repair. They are so delicate and sensitive and their metabolism is so fast, a quick nap in a bad position can cause permanent damage.

An example I learned first hand, I’ve raised Coturnix for a while and never had this issue. The little water bottles I use, snap perfectly into the brown plastic Talenti ice cream lids. This keeps the bottles standing upright and provides a small reservoir in case of leaks. But the tiny chicks like to lay in the lid next to the water because chicks like to feel the lip of the bowl and the bottle around them. I was finding day 4-5 I would have chicks start splaying, when usually they’re out of the woods by then and you can start relaxing. Eventually I figured it out, and I trace the lids onto a paper towel and cut a little paper towel liner to put in them, and haven’t had the issue since. I also put a paper towel in the lid I use for feeding, because they kick the food out and lay in the slippery bowl, causing the same issue.

Thank you.. I will try what u suggest regarding the tendon and let u know.

In regards to the eldest male, he's 4+ mths old and has been mating with another hen. Usually he PREENS the others who are all 5 weeks now but for some reason jumped on this little underdeveloped chick.

@Nabiki yes it has crossed my mind to cull poor grumpy-pants .. its heartbreaking to think of. You had mentioned in a different post about using starterfluid to put a chick to "sleep" peacefully .. if I have to, whats the process to do it? - Do u know?

 

[FloorCandy]

Thank you.. I will try what u suggest regarding the tendon and let u know.

In regards to the eldest male, he's 4+ mths old and has been mating with another hen. Usually he PREENS the others who are all 5 weeks now but for some reason jumped on this little underdeveloped chick.

@NAB.. yes it has crossed my mind to cull poor grumpy-pants .. its heartbreaking to think of. You had mentioned in a different post about using starterfluid to put a chick to "sleep" peacefully .. if I have to, whats the process to do it? - Do u know?

I believe the process was that you put the animal in a container that you can seal, you put a towel soaked in the starter fluid into the container with the animal and seal the container, check back after several minutes and the animal has probably gone peacefully. Be sure to do it outdoors so you don’t breathe in the fumes.

 

[FloorCandy]

Thank you.. I will try what u suggest regarding the tendon and let u know.

In regards to the eldest male, he's 4+ mths old and has been mating with another hen. Usually he PREENS the others who are all 5 weeks now but for some reason jumped on this little underdeveloped chick.

@NAB.. yes it has crossed my mind to cull poor grumpy-pants .. its heartbreaking to think of. You had mentioned in a different post about using starterfluid to put a chick to "sleep" peacefully .. if I have to, whats the process to do it? - Do u know?

A four month old is too old to be with 5 week olds, he will start attacking the younger males, you should separate them before violence starts.