'Saved' Silkie from TSC - He's Dying.

[Reyvaughn]

I went into TSC today and said I wanted the last Silkie they had plus some others to make the minimum 6. I got the Silkie for free. His/her leg is messed up....

What should I do with him/her? It's hopping around, but seems like it may be in pain (constant chirping, but not totally distressful). It can move the toes and everything, but look at hos splayed it is. I felt so bad for it...

 

[Elite Silkies]

Look up spraddle leg and it will show you how to put the bandaide on it's legs. Hope the little guy makes it.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I didn't know if it was spraddle or not - forgive me for not checking first. I have dial-up and the pics don't load well for me. Thanks for letting me know it's spraddle though! I was afraid it got broke and I was going to need to set it - but it's not broke. They just got these guys in yesterday and he seemed fine when I went to see them then.

 

[Missouri Chicken Chick]

I have had a few chicks that had this problem. I had a really hard time with the band-aids, twisty ties, etc., so I simply wrapped them up tight in a small piece of material, making sure the legs were in the right spot. Then I put a rubber band around the material (making sure it wasn't too tight) and basically "propped" the chick up in the corner of the brooder in what would be almost a standing position for the chick. I made sure it was where it would stay warm and still feel like it was with the other chicks. About every hour I held it close to food and water and it drank and ate as normal. I unwrapped it a few times to change the wrap because it was soiled, but then wrapped it back up again. After about 24 hours of this, I unwrapped the chick and it was much better. Just to make sure, however, I wrapped it up again and kept it that way for about another 12 hours. Once I took the wrap off, it took off with the other chicks and I couldn't tell which one had ever had a problem.

Just as a side note, the few times I have done this, it is quite comical because all the other chicks will do their best to get close to the one that is wrapped up. They will stretch their bodies up around the wrap and sleep like that, standing up, close to the "patient."

Anyway, maybe that will help. I do know that the earlier you try to take care of it, the better. Good luck!

 

[Reyvaughn]

The hip joint(?) isn't seeming very pliable. I have the tape on it, but it's just pulling the good leg over with it. He just about drown himself in the water and instead of my husband doing something and he was sitting there watching him... I am 3' away and made it out of my seat, over to him and had him out of the water before he even had his butt off his chair. What an incompetent idiot.

Anyways... are we sure it's spraddle leg? I don't see it straightening out because of the rigidity of that joint.

 

[suebee]

Looks like classic spraddle leg, poor thing. Glad you saved him from TCS.

My spraddle leg treatment for silkies here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=318395

 

[Reyvaughn]

Since his horrifying near death drowning incident, Burrito has been pretty sluggish. S/he hasn't really opened it's eyes and isn't eating or drinking. S/he is still chirping occasionally. I ended up wrapping Burrito in vet wrap with the legs near close to perfect as I can get because my husband is... Lets not go there. Hence the name Burrito. I had to take her/him with me to my mom's so I could offer feed and water to him/her every hour. Like I said, s/he isn't eating or drinking on her/his own. The temps were not ideal at my mom's but his box held an even 82 degrees while we were there. I am now feeding him/her a yogurt and water mixture through a precision syringe. S/he had some pasty butt, so s/he was eating/drinking at TSC. I also had to clean Burrito up at my mom's because s/he did poo. I am concerned the near drowning hurt Burrito more than the spraddle leg. Should I be doing something for Burrito that I am not aware of? I have Duramycin on hand (water in lungs=pnuemonia/resp. infection/something else), should I maybe dose her/him with some?

Oh, and on a side note, 3 of the other 4 Bannies I got had pasty butt, so I feel I saved them in a way, too. I am surprised because the Bloomsburg TSC's birds usually look pretty good. Oh, and they had 4 Silkies and one I wasn't sure of, but may have been a blue Silkie yesterday after they came in. I should have bought everyone of them yesterday.

 

[suebee]

Let start with the temp..85-90 degrees for that young chick.
Don't give it anymore yogurt. You don't want dehydration from the sugars in the yogurt. Just chick starter mixed with warm water, like oatmeal thickness.
Hand feed and offer drops of water. Vitamins...yeah, OK...but most healthy chicks don't need them.

The drowning part does concern me. You'll know in the next 48 hours. Not sure what to do with his lungs. Please don't blame hubby, sometimes we all forget to pay attention.

The main thing is this: You rescued the weakest chick, be prepared that the chick may not live. You're doing a great job trying to save it.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I should have mentioned that since we got home he's back in the brooder, under the lamp. The temp is 93 under the lamp and he's opening his eyes again. He ate some of the feed and water mix and he drank some water from the syringe. I am assuming he's a he. It's not my good luck that it will be a female and live. He's now just opening and closing his mouth like he's peeping, but no noise is coming out.

 

[Zinnia-Hen]

Quote:
If he's opening his mouth like he's peeping and no sound is coming out, my first guess would be that he's breathing heavily...Maybe it had something to do with his drowing incidence.