Possible sick chick

[twinflower2]

Sounds like my cream legbar. Is it walking still? Is the crop full?

Someone recommended PolyViSol (no iron) which might be helpful.

Yes she walks some. Seems to be walking a bit more now that the temperature is lower. I haven’t thought to check the crop!

 

[twinflower2]

I have a baby Delaware chick that had the exact same symptoms as you're describing. Could walk ok in stretches, but soon started to wobble a bit, and when it laid down, it kind of 'flopped' to one side.

I considered taking it out of the general population and giving it some time, but none of the chickens aggressively attacked it for being weak, and the chick still wanted to be social - and as you know, the noise they make when they can't see their other chicks is funny when the chicks are just around the corner, but it's kinda heartbreaking when they're truly isolated.

We keep two water sources in the pen, one for just plain water, the other is a vitamin water. So to make sure the chick had the best chance, we put both water sources with vitamins for a week and it seems to have actually worked. I checked on the group last night and the chick was up and running, full speed, with the rest of the pack. No wobbles, no flopping.

Not every case is handled so easily, we did lose one chick early this spring - it just didn't seem to thrive like the rest and passed away. But sometimes a simple fix is all that's needed. Good luck to you.

Thank you for your advice. I’ve added another plain water bottle. I think the added electrolytes have helped as well

 

[Wyorp Rock]

1 week old Silver Laced Polish chick. Seems to have difficulty balancing when walking. Mostly lays on one side partially, sits on hocks

Also seems to have stalled in feather development.

takes big lurching steps and then sits on her hocks

What are you feeding?

I would get some poultry vitamins that contain B2 (Riboflavin) or give her 1/4 tablet human B-Complex daily.

In both photos, the leg/foot looks turned in - is that what you normally see? She may have a leg bone deformity - hard to know really, but if she's not wanting to walk/lurches, then I would consider it.

The bumps on the back of the legs is likely from laying day all the time, I would watch those areas to make sure they don't get infected. Chickens are not really equipped to lay down all the time so the skin can break down. You could try placing her in a sling for short periods of time throughout the day to help relieve pressure on the sores and they may heal quicker. May help her strengthen her legs too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[twinflower2]

Thank you for all your tips everyone! She is doing so much better! She’s walking much more and is way more stable on her feet. She may be a bit pigeon toed, but she’s figuring it out! I used lifelyte tablets with riboflavin and I think that helped a lot! Her feathers have started coming in again!