I noticed one of my then 9 day old silkies holding one of her legs up Sunday night. The hock joint was swollen and flat, she wouldn’t put weight on that leg, and I could feel the tendon had slipped to the outside of the leg. I could move it into place by straightening it out, but it would immediately slip to the side again.
I found a vet willing to see chicks on Monday morning and took her in. He confirmed the diagnosis, said she could have surgery for $1000 (!), or he could give her a shot of anti-inflammatory meds and basically hope for the best. I asked for the shot, and asked him to show me how best to splint and immobilize the leg, which I did when I got home. Then I made her a chick chair using a Kleenex box and an old winter hat.
I have been changing her splint every 24 hours to check progress. To my great surprise, the swelling was basically gone and the tendon seemed to be back in place after just one day, but I left the splint on until this morning (about 3.5 days in the splint and in the chair).
For the last half hour, after she decided to launch herself out of the chair, I’ve been letting her walk around a bit in an isolated box. She doesn’t have full range of motion, but she is walking, and the tendon is still in the right place.
Looking for advice now about next steps. 3.5 days doesn’t seem like enough time to be confident that tendon is secure. Should I put the splint back on at intervals to let her rest and assure the tendon doesn’t slip again? The downsides obviously being potential muscle atrophy, etc. Just looking for advice now, especially if you’ve been through this. I honestly wasn’t expecting to get this far, after reading so many tough stories about slipped tendon.
Thank you!
I found a vet willing to see chicks on Monday morning and took her in. He confirmed the diagnosis, said she could have surgery for $1000 (!), or he could give her a shot of anti-inflammatory meds and basically hope for the best. I asked for the shot, and asked him to show me how best to splint and immobilize the leg, which I did when I got home. Then I made her a chick chair using a Kleenex box and an old winter hat.
I have been changing her splint every 24 hours to check progress. To my great surprise, the swelling was basically gone and the tendon seemed to be back in place after just one day, but I left the splint on until this morning (about 3.5 days in the splint and in the chair).
For the last half hour, after she decided to launch herself out of the chair, I’ve been letting her walk around a bit in an isolated box. She doesn’t have full range of motion, but she is walking, and the tendon is still in the right place.
Looking for advice now about next steps. 3.5 days doesn’t seem like enough time to be confident that tendon is secure. Should I put the splint back on at intervals to let her rest and assure the tendon doesn’t slip again? The downsides obviously being potential muscle atrophy, etc. Just looking for advice now, especially if you’ve been through this. I honestly wasn’t expecting to get this far, after reading so many tough stories about slipped tendon.
Thank you!
