Splay leg after one week. To euthanize or not?

[humblehillsfarm]

I inherited some guinea keets a little over a week ago. One had a slipped tendon which was put down and the other had splayed leg. I also now have three healthy keets. I taped up the splayed leg but the foot up to the knee joint(?) twisted outward anyways. The leg looks awful to be honest. Anyways, the keet can still walk and run around, but I am worried about it’s quality of life as it ages. I’ve tried to research chickens and Guineas that lived as adults with leg deformities and haven’t found any info. I’m torn as to what to do. Honestly I’ve not enjoyed raising them. They are terrified beyond terror if they so much as hear me approaching. Anyways, I’m just not emotionally up to the task of putting it down, and I guess you can call it a homestead fail, but I’ve had to rely on my neighbor to put down the baby with the slipped tendon. What would you all do?

They were originally on turkey starter at 24% protein although since Wednesday I’ve been feeding them with 30% show bird feed (Mazuri brand from Chewy). These birds came injured and I’ve put vitamins in their water. I believe this is purely a genetic issue.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Do you have pictures of the keet's bad leg?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Do you have pictures of the keet's bad leg?

Not right now, but I’ll try to get some later. I shoulda known better than to post without pictures.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Not right now, but I’ll try to get some later. I shoulda known better than to post without pictures.

It's okay.
I can wait.

 

[R2elk]

I inherited some guinea keets a little over a week ago. One had a slipped tendon which was put down and the other had splayed leg. I also now have three healthy keets. I taped up the splayed leg but the foot up to the knee joint(?) twisted outward anyways. The leg looks awful to be honest. Anyways, the keet can still walk and run around, but I am worried about it’s quality of life as it ages. I’ve tried to research chickens and Guineas that lived as adults with leg deformities and haven’t found any info. I’m torn as to what to do. Honestly I’ve not enjoyed raising them. They are terrified beyond terror if they so much as hear me approaching. Anyways, I’m just not emotionally up to the task of putting it down, and I guess you can call it a homestead fail, but I’ve had to rely on my neighbor to put down the baby with the slipped tendon. What would you all do?

They were originally on turkey starter at 24% protein although since Wednesday I’ve been feeding them with 30% show bird feed (Mazuri brand from Chewy). These birds came injured and I’ve put vitamins in their water. I believe this is purely a genetic issue.

While the tendency to splay leg can be a genetic issue, it is most commonly caused by the keet being on too slippery of a surface. Splay leg is normally easy to fix (other than the actual tape job) as long as the keet is kept on a well textured surface.

If the legs cannot be taped with hobbles to prevent the splaying, it is possible to put a paper towel on the bottom of a narrow glass and put the keet in the glass. If the glass is narrow enough, it will prevent the keet's legs from splaying.

 

[Sydney65]

While the tendency to splay leg can be a genetic issue, it is most commonly caused by the keet being on too slippery of a surface. Splay leg is normally easy to fix (other than the actual tape job) as long as the keet is kept on a well textured surface.

If the legs cannot be taped with hobbles to prevent the splaying, it is possible to put a paper towel on the bottom of a narrow glass and put the keet in the glass. If the glass is narrow enough, it will prevent the keet's legs from splaying.

I always see the chicken mamas saying splayed leg is a vitamin issue & encouraging each other to start vitamins in addition to hobbling. It did seem to help when I started the Nutri-drench?

 

[R2elk]

I always see the chicken mamas saying splayed leg is a vitamin issue & encouraging each other to start vitamins in addition to hobbling. It did seem to help when I started the Nutri-drench?

Splay leg in keets is almost 100% being on too slick of a surface. Many confuse splay leg and slipped tendon. Slipped tendon is almost always a genetic tendency and poor nutrition.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Splay leg in keets is almost 100% being on too slick of a surface. Many confuse splay leg and slipped tendon. Slipped tendon is almost always a genetic tendency and poor nutrition.

They’ve not been kept on a slipper surface as far as I am aware. I’m on year three of raising chickens (first time with Guineas) so I’m not a total newb as far as that goes.

While the tendency to splay leg can be a genetic issue, it is most commonly caused by the keet being on too slippery of a surface. Splay leg is normally easy to fix (other than the actual tape job) as long as the keet is kept on a well textured surface.

If the legs cannot be taped with hobbles to prevent the splaying, it is possible to put a paper towel on the bottom of a narrow glass and put the keet in the glass. If the glass is narrow enough, it will prevent the keet's legs from splaying.

How long could I keep it there? At this point it’s about a week and a half old at least. Hobbling seemed to work in the early days but then the one foot up to the knee started to turn out

 

[R2elk]

They’ve not been kept on a slipper surface as far as I am aware. I’m on year three of raising chickens (first time with Guineas) so I’m not a total newb as far as that goes.

Guinea keets are not chicks. What you can get away with for chicks does not mean it is good enough for keets. Guineas have far more fragile legs even as adults than do chickens.

Hobbling seemed to work in the early days but then the one foot up to the knee started to turn out

That sounds more like a slipped tendon than a splayed leg. In splayed legs, both legs spread out away from the body. Splay leg treatment will not fix a slipped tendon.

Slipped tyendon has to be manipulated back into place and then secured there in some manner. Slipped tendon if secured in place can be helped by giving vitamin B complex at the rate of 1/2 tablet dissolved in one gallon of water. It should be the only source of water and should be made fresh daily. It can be given to all of the poultry, keets and otherwise.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Guinea keets are not chicks. What you can get away with for chicks does not mean it is good enough for keets. Guineas have far more fragile legs even as adults than do chickens.

That sounds more like a slipped tendon than a splayed leg. In splayed legs, both legs spread out away from the body. Splay leg treatment will not fix a slipped tendon.

Slipped tyendon has to be manipulated back into place and then secured there in some manner. Slipped tendon if secured in place can be helped by giving vitamin B complex at the rate of 1/2 tablet dissolved in one gallon of water. It should be the only source of water and should be made fresh daily. It can be given to all of the poultry, keets and otherwise.

Well they came from rural king where they keep them on pine shavings. I know the manager and he brought them to me to see if I can help although with a couple healthy ones because he felt guilty for pawning them off on me. I have a puppy pee pad on the floor covered with pine shavings. As I said I’ve been putting vitamins in the water. I did have a keet that came with a slipped tendon, which was verified by the neighbor who is a doctor specializing in poultry nutrition and sciences. He put it down. He offered to put down splayed leg chick too but at the time it was looking better. This looks nothing like the slipped tendon. It looked like a classic splay leg and he agreed. He also said he didn’t feel that nutrition had anything to do with it, unless of course the parents came from poor stock or poor nutrition. I am not trying to sound rude at all but I’m not trying to discuss the cause of this. I know that what I am doing did not cause the splayed leg nor the slipped tendon on the other chick. I just want advise to continue perusing treatment, alternate treatment, put it down, or just wait and see. As I said, it does run around in terror with the rest of the chicks just fine. I don’t personally want to put it down although at this point I’d not object to someone coming to put it down so I don’t have to deal with this. That’s where I’m at on this whole thing. I’ve got a lot of other things going on aside from a messed up guinea keet I didn’t want in the first place.

I tried to film it running but mostly the huddle in terror in the corner. I’ve sat with them for a half hour or more at times just sitting and watching with my hand not moving in the run.


There are pictures of the feet. I have a double layer of vet wrap but the foot pulls on it regardless. I’m completely by myself so I know wrapping it in any other way will be challenging, but I am willing to try. I do not have help aside from people I can call for help.