Splay leg after one week. To euthanize or not?

[R2elk]

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.

At no time did I imply that you did anything wrong.

I cannot see the hock of the bad leg in any of the photos. Therefore I cannot say one way or the other if it is now a slipped tendon. From the angle it is turned, I suspect a slipped tendon.

Whether or not your neighbor doctor thinks it has anything to do with nutrition does not change the fact that having too little niacin and thiamine ate an early age does affect slipped tendon aka perosis in keets and poults.

If Rural King is like other chain stores, they typically feed all chicks, poults and keets a 17% protein chick starter while they are in their possession. That feeds is nutritionally deficient for poults and keets and can certainly be the leading cause of slipped tendons.

The other thing that both they and you do which can cause problems at an early age in keets and poults is to keep them on shavings. If they are on shavings, they need to have access to appropriate sized grit.

Personally, I do not even attempt to save any chicks, keets or poults that have a slipped tendon. It is very rare for me to see those conditions but splay leg does show up in my keets on occasion. I use a thin strip of scotch tape for the hobble and it is usually cured within two days.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

At no time did I imply that you did anything wrong.

I cannot see the hock of the bad leg in any of the photos. Therefore I cannot say one way or the other if it is now a slipped tendon. From the angle it is turned, I suspect a slipped tendon.

Whether or not your neighbor doctor thinks it has anything to do with nutrition does not change the fact that having too little niacin and thiamine ate an early age does affect slipped tendon aka perosis in keets and poults.

If Rural King is like other chain stores, they typically feed all chicks, poults and keets a 17% protein chick starter while they are in their possession. That feeds is nutritionally deficient for poults and keets and can certainly be the leading cause of slipped tendons.

The other thing that both they and you do which can cause problems at an early age in keets and poults is to keep them on shavings. If they are on shavings, they need to have access to appropriate sized grit.

Personally, I do not even attempt to save any chicks, keets or poults that have a slipped tendon. It is very rare for me to see those conditions but splay leg does show up in my keets on occasion. I use a thin strip of scotch tape for the hobble and it is usually cured within two days.

Would the chick be able to walk with a slipped tendon? The other chick definitely could not. I could try with tape although at this point I worry if it even matters to try.

What do you recommend as bedding? Up until Monday I had only been using the puppy pee pads which I changed twice a day. I used them for about five days before adding the pine shavings.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I refreshed my knowledge on treatment of splayed leg and I believe my mistake was twofold: the vet wrap is too elastic, and I had removed the wrap after two days when the legs looked better, but I guess the chick needed more time. I’m considering at least trying a bandaid which is less stretchy. I hate to keep asking someone to kill my birds for me when I should be doing it, but if there is no improvement I ask. I’ve put down two mean roosters but it’s so much worse for a baby.

 

[R2elk]

Would the chick be able to walk with a slipped tendon? The other chick definitely could not. I could try with tape although at this point I worry if it even matters to try.

What do you recommend as bedding? Up until Monday I had only been using the puppy pee pads which I changed twice a day. I used them for about five days before adding the pine shavings.

I had one guinea with a slipped tendon that lasted until about 6 months old. That was before I knew what it was or possible treatments. It used the wing on the same side as the bad leg for support in getting around. If I had known then what I know now, I would have culled it early on.

Yes they can get around if only one leg has a slipped tendon. If you want to try to fix it, you will most likely need to make some kind of splint that will hold the leg in the proper position after you have put the tendon back in place.

There is an episode of Dr. Oakley Yukon Vet which shows how she fixed a splayed leg in a broad breasted turkey poult.

At the age your keets are, there is nothing wrong with having them on wood chips. Just be sure to have the appropriate sized grit available to them.

I use sand as bedding in my brooder because I live on a sand dune and the sand is free.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I had one guinea with a slipped tendon that lasted until about 6 months old. That was before I knew what it was or possible treatments. It used the wing on the same side as the bad leg for support in getting around. If I had known then what I know now, I would have culled it early on.

Yes they can get around if only one leg has a slipped tendon. If you want to try to fix it, you will most likely need to make some kind of splint that will hold the leg in the proper position after you have put the tendon back in place.

There is an episode of Dr. Oakley Yukon Vet which shows how she fixed a splayed leg in a broad breasted turkey poult.

At the age your keets are, there is nothing wrong with having them on wood chips. Just be sure to have the appropriate sized grit available to them.

I use sand as bedding in my brooder because I live on a sand dune and the sand is free.

At this point I’ll try to persevere with fixing it. I am feeling overwhelmed. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong lately.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I had one guinea with a slipped tendon that lasted until about 6 months old. That was before I knew what it was or possible treatments. It used the wing on the same side as the bad leg for support in getting around. If I had known then what I know now, I would have culled it early on.

Also, this one is fully walking. No wing support.

 

[R2elk]

Also, this one is fully walking. No wing support.

The wing support did not happen until it was bigger and fully feathered.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

The wing support did not happen until it was bigger and fully feathered.

Well I went out and wrapped the keet in a paper towel so I could examine with both hands. The knee joint is doing something weird so I am now wondering if it is a tendon and my taping just kept it in tact just enough. Or perhaps the tendon problem happened later. It is definitely just one leg affected.

 

[Sydney65]

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.

Here's a thread on slipped tendon on a chicken - I'm trying ti find the glass tx bc it did help mine with splayed leg.

Thread 'Chick with possible twisted leg/slipped achilles tendon' https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-twisted-leg-slipped-achilles-tendon.1273865/

 

[Sydney65]

The cup tx-Thread 'How to treat splayed leg or legs in baby chicks!' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-treat-splayed-leg-or-legs-in-baby-chicks.1332789/
Eggcessive did this while leaving the tape in place for stability.