Sick Chick Emergency please help

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

I incubated 6 chicks from online bought eggs. All developing fine. Took them out to candle at day 17 before lockdown, shells had deteriorated so much picking them up broke their shells. I mended as best I could and incubated them separately to my other eggs. One egg hatched. Chick looked okay on day 1, moved around okay, last night she was falling over when walking, using one leg but attempting to walk on the hock of the other leg. I did have her in with some more of my other chicks before I noticed she had problems. 1 Did she get injured by the other chicks or 2 Is she sick? Maybe nutritional problems or joint, spinal or leg problems? She isn't eating or drinking now. I'm dipping her beak in honey water and also raw egg yolk which she does respond by swallowing but shows no attempt to eat by herself. I have no idea what to try. All advice welcome please?

 

[Meg22]

Could it be slipped tendon?

https://backyardchickenscoop.com/perosis-in-chickens/

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

Could it be slipped tendon?

https://backyardchickenscoop.com/perosis-in-chickens/

Looking at the information you have supplied makes me strongly think this could possibly be the case which if correct would make culling the chick the most humane. I'll give it 24 hours to see if anything changes but I have no idea how I'll be able to manage to kill her. I know I will be saving her from pain and suffering but the idea of doing it fills me with dread. How best to cull her if I need to?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Your chick's issue could be spraddle/splayed leg, which has an excellent prognosis if you correct it now. If you do a search on this site, you will find many threads where this condition was successfully fixed. Here are two articles that you may find helpful.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-foot-and-toe-issues-in-poultry-of-all-ages.68093/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-we-correct-splayed-legs-on-new-chicks.72873/reviews

Slipped tendons are much trickier to fix, but here is a peafowl chick thread where its slipped tendon had a successful outcome.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/peachick-with-slipped-tendon.1092979/

Can you get a closeup photo of the chick's leg including its hock joint?

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

Your chick's issue could be spraddle/splayed leg, which has an excellent prognosis if you correct it now. If you do a search on this site, you will find many threads where this condition was successfully fixed. Here are two articles that you may find helpful.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-foot-and-toe-issues-in-poultry-of-all-ages.68093/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-we-correct-splayed-legs-on-new-chicks.72873/reviews

Slipped tendons are much trickier to fix, but here is a peafowl chick thread where its slipped tendon had a successful outcome.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/peachick-with-slipped-tendon.1092979/

Can you get a closeup photo of the chick's leg including its hock joint?

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

It moves its leg but her foot always seems to be pointing upward

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

It moves its leg but her foot always seems to be pointing upward

I'm going to tag some medical experts to give you more guidance.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @TwoCrows @coach723 @Eggcessive

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Took them out to candle at day 17 before lockdown, shells had deteriorated so much picking them up broke their shells. I mended as best I could and incubated them separately to my other eggs. One egg hatched. Chick looked okay on day 1, moved around okay, last night she was falling over when walking, using one leg but attempting to walk on the hock of the other leg.

Was she shrinked wrapped or assisted?

Moved around o.k. on day 1 but was she walking upright, running about the incubator or just moving?

Could be that she's got egg on the joint from you feeding her, but if that's not the case, can you look at the joint to see if it's got egg residue on it or if the joint is leaking?

With tiny ones like this, it's always hard to tell exactly what's going on. The mention of the shells deteriorating before hatch at only 17 days is interesting. I don't think I've ever seen anyone mention that, so I'd wonder what was going on with the eggs, how old they were, etc.

Foot pointing up may be slipped tendon which you should be able to feel. If you need to, compare her joint to another healthy chick. Could be a leg bone deformity.

I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this. Hopefully she will perk up. Sadly some chicks fail to thrive.

I'd work on hydration, get some sugar water into her. I'd get some B-Complex and get 1/4 tablet into her daily. Easiest way for a tiny one like this is to dissolve the vitamin in a small amount of water, then give her drops of the vitamin solution throughout the day.

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

Would brewers yeast mixed with water be okay for B complex or would a b complex supplement be better?
I am already giving her raw egg yolk which also contains b vitamins and iron and also water with honey in as I thought the health benefits of honey are more superior to sugar.
She is so small and to be honest I can't feel very well what is normal and what isn't. I have a spinal problem which makes my fingers numb so that doesn't help.

She does have some egg yolk on her joint but I didn't want to mess her about too much and cause more stress.

To me that joint looks more swollen than the other joint. She dies try and walk but she lifts the leg up but there is no movement from that joint down and has no movement in the foot or toes either. The other leg moves fine and she closes her toes round my finger. The other foot there is nothing.

She was shrink wrapped and I did have to assist. I put a little coconut oil on the membrane to soften it and released it slightly then put her back and observed, she got out mainly on her own after that. There was no bleeding and she had absorbed all the egg yolk and was walking a little on both legs, she wasn't falling over like she is now. I put her with our other 2 chicks which hatched the same day then noticed later she hadn't been coming out from under the heat pad for over 24 hours. I checked under the heat pad and she started stumbling about. I then removed her and put her back in a separate incubator so I could keep a closer eye on her which she is now. Àt all stages of hatching till now she has been on non slip mats.

I read up on what to do re tendon but couldn't feel the tendon to attempt to diagnose or treat it.

I just feel as if I am letting her suffer, she has been calling out all night.

 

[CrazyChickenLadySue]

I'm going to tag some medical experts to give you more guidance.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @TwoCrows @coach723 @Eggcessive

Thank you