Silkie chick isn’t moving around

[Boymama3]

I have been hatching some silkies. I had one egg that was working on hatching and wasn’t making progress so I had ended up helping it hatch. I’ve hatched a lot of eggs & I only interfere with the hatching process if I feel like it is necessary and they will not make it if I don’t & they haven’t made progress for a long period of time. so I helped it hatch. Either it’s legs seems like they’re not working or it can’t hold its body up. It is otherwise healthy. But it cannot get around on its own. Every time I go out, it is still laying in the same spot. I’m having to physically move it to give it water and food and hold it there to eat and drink. does anybody know why this could be? it seemed to be moving it’s legs when I hold it, but it isn’t enough for it to get itself around. Like when I set it down, it just flops it’s body down like it can’t hold itself up. So I wonder if it’s having a hard time holding its body up or it’s legs aren’t strong enough. Has anyone experienced this & had the chick make it? I helped it hatch two nights ago.

 

[nuthatched]

Unfortunately, there's often a reason chicks don't hatch on their own, this might be it.

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

Try giving it some nutrients/electrolytes. I recommend using this from Tractor Supply.

Hopefully it just needs to rest. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can step in. @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Either it’s legs seems like they’re not working or it can’t hold its body up. It is otherwise healthy. But it cannot get around on its own.

Sorry to hear about your chick.

Most of the time when I have one like this, it doesn't make it. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I'd start her on B-Complex. Dissolve 1/4-1/2 tablet in a very small amount of water, then give her drops of this vitamin water throughout the day. With a tiny chick, usually about 2 drops is all you'll get them to take at a time.

She's really small, is she actually able to eat the crumbles or just pokes at them? Sometimes crumbles need to be soaked for the first few days so they are easier to eat or you can grind them down smaller almost to a powder in a food processor or blender.

She may benefit from being in a chick chair. You can also try that.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[Boymama3]

So I have probiotics in the water and have just been going out and physically moving her to give her water and had some food crumbles in front of her. She has perked up and is starting to move around a bit more. Still not like a typical chick at that age. But making progress!

I have had to help other chickens hatch in the past, and never had this issue. Just hoping she makes it! She seems to be doing better day by day!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So I have probiotics in the water and have just been going out and physically moving her to give her water and had some food crumbles in front of her. She has perked up and is starting to move around a bit more. Still not like a typical chick at that age. But making progress!

I have had to help other chickens hatch in the past, and never had this issue. Just hoping she makes it! She seems to be doing better day by day!

Hope she improves!

 

[Boymama3]

Thank you! I found it is called spraddle leg & can be fixed! So hoping it all works out!

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you! I found it is called spraddle leg & can be fixed! So hoping it all works out!

Yey! Some of us call that splayed legs. Out of hundreds of silkies I've hatched, I wound up with two. I used a thin strip of vet wrap to bind the legs together so they were straight under the chick like they should be. Others have done this same thing by cutting a strip from a bandaid. There are a few other tricks folks use too, but hopefully, you've found one. Three/four days and it should be fine!

 

[Boymama3]

Thank you for that info! I had wrapped it legs with a Band-Aid like you had mentioned, and she is all better! Running around, getting her own food and water now!