possible Spraddle leg????

[caymiane]

This little chick is about a week old and has yet to be able to really stand up. It is eating and drinking, and looks healthy except for it's legs. It had to have help hatching because it pipped and then didn't do anything. There were two that were assisted hatches but only one is having issues. It is a frizzle if that matters. I banded the legs every day for several days. Today when I removed the bandages, the legs seem worse. This is the first time that I have ever seen this and don't know what to do.

 

[chooks4life]

So what is it doing? Can it walk at all? Can you give a description of what its motion pattern is?

 

[caymiane]

When it's legs are banded it tends to manage to get around better, but still falls over. It tends to do a kind of hop, roll thing. When I removed the bands it looked like it was going crazy. It's legs went out to the side and it was kinda of rolling around trying to get up. It's legs reminded me of a wind up toy if that helps. It is eating and drinking and chirps loudly. I noticed that it is developing scars on the hock from the way that it sits. I removed the bands and am using a hair tie instead. It is lose around the legs, but holds them in place as well as the bandage. It is also not pulling out feathers. I'm not sure if you need to know anything else. Thanks for replying.

 

[chooks4life]

Ok, so, if I'm understanding this right, it sits back on its rump and hocks most of the time, and when it tries to walk, its legs go out behind and to the sides of it?

There are some vitamin deficiencies that cause spraddling as well as some genetic traits but I don't know which one it is, so best to treat with vitamins and see if that fixes it, and if it doesn't, well by the virtue of having eliminated one possibility we'll have a better idea. Most people seem to use Polyvisol or something like that, I don't know, I've never had that problem because I feed the parents kelp. I have had genetic spraddling but that fixes itself.

It may be best to treat the sores on the hocks and restrain the bub to a small area where it can stand and reach food and water, but not spend time in the wrong position. The longer it spends time in the wrong position, the more the body adapts to that, stretching muscles and tendons into the incorrect positions which can cause secondary injuries which can be altogether too hard to treat. Some people with spraddling ducklings put them into small, shallow teacups so they can get their legs under them and not end up flat out or on their backs. What you use depends on what works I guess.

Best wishes.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might try making a chick chair very short like this one to get it used to standing:

Photo by Artsyrobin of BYC

 

[chooks4life]

You might try making a chick chair very short like this one to get it used to standing:

Photo by Artsyrobin of BYC

X2! That's exactly the idea.