Splayed Leg - We're losing her - Sad Update

[PurpleChicken]

We are trying so hard to save a little Buff Orp baby. She is so sweet
and innocent. I'm letting my emotions get to me on this. Well, I'm
letting my wife's and son's emotions get to me on this.

see
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=20205


She is not getting any stronger. She is eating but not much. We hand feed
her 10 times a day. We get up all night as she cheeps for us. We give her
polyvisol, yogurt, cooked egg. She spends hours cuddled on my wife.

I wish I saw this coming and euthanized the chick. I'm sorry if this sounds cruel.

As you will see in the pics she is half the size of her sister, both born last friday.
Today we isolated her into that little container because the other chicks
were running her over and crushing her. At least now she can have some peace.
Her chirps are becoming raspy and her stool is black. She stands (see pic) but
any time she tries to move she just chirps and cries and falls over.

Suggestions Please...

There is a 50 watt infrared light on her (turned off for pic). Her external body
temp is 85 degrees. The pine beneath her is 90 degrees.

This is how she sits/stands.

Her sister

 

[snugglepup]

I'm sorry! I hate that! Sometimes I wish they had the grace to die outright from the start.

I hope that comes across right.

I don't have any suggestions, because I've never successfully fixed a spraddle leg. But I have to wonder if there isn't something else wrong with her. The ones I have had, still grew fairly normally and were fine except crippled. I have only had 2, and wound up euthanizing them at about 3-4 weeks because they seemed so painful and the leg kept getting worse and worse so they couldn't walk at all.

 

[silkiechicken]

It is very well possible that she has something else wrong other than splayed legs. The chick I had with just one splayed leg could stand on it's feet within 24 hours... granted, it's problem was not as bad as yours and it's toes were not curled. It is up to you if you want to euthanize it or not. I give my chicks at most a week to get fixed up... but they are only half pets.

This is what it looked like at 2 days old, and I took off the tape on day 3.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=20133

Good luck with it, the most important part is it eating and drinking. If it doesn't do that, it's gong to be tough.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Snuggle you're reading my mind. If I'm going to euthanize then
I need to do it now. I think I'd rather go cull my favorite hen than
have to kill this little chick. I'm trying to make it easy on my family.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Thank you Silkie. Was hoping you would reply. I'll give her until Sunday night. We set
her legs on Monday so that will be a week. If she improves, great. If she doesn't
improve or gets worse then I know what to do. Our chickens are half pets also.
Only 1 in 10 hatchlings will make it to our laying/pet flock. The others will go to
homes as pet chickens or will be meat birds.

Don

 

[silkiechicken]

If it's feet are not uncurlings, have you tried to make it cardboard "feet" so that she can straighten them out?

You know what the funny thing is... always seems like the chicks you help out end up roos!!! At least you get to eat them though.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Looks like curled toes...cardboard feet need to be made...and a childrens Vit / E in her water....

 

[dlhunicorn]

Ýou can cull or you can try to treat (treating often works but sometimes it doesnt)... I am sure you have seen the bandaging technique for splayed leg however, if your bird (after treatment consisting of bandaging the legs and feet and treating with POLYVISOL for the curly toe paralysis (riboflavin/vit B) >if your bird remains stunted (considerably smaller in size than the rest) then there is a condition/disease called runting/stunting syndrome and it varies in the degree of pathogenicity ...I also had a bird with a milder form of this ... six months of nutritional support (my bird did not have the additional splayed legs and curlytoe paralysis requiring bandaging and POLYVISOL) >malabsorption of nutrients is often involved (this means they cant absorb the nutirents from their feed properly ) did the trick for my bird... below is an article on it ... I suggest you get AviaCharge 2000 as it is one of the few complete nutritional /vit supplements I know of ( you can order online from McMurry or Strombergs) these birds will often show (midl) neurological symptoms and an additional vitE/selenium combination (human geltab>make sure the selenium does not exceed 50 MICROGRAMS and give once a week if you note that your bird is crooking its neck or walking backwards or such> mine did and this resolved the problem) Here is the article:
http://www.avian.uga.edu/documents/pip/ … 202005.pdf
(The "helicopter" wing feathering shown in the photo is almost diagnostic for for one form of this syndrome however if not present this does not mean your bird does not have this... runting/stunting syndrome is more often typified by a delayed growth/size which is what my bird had)

 

[PurpleChicken]

Peeper passed this morning. She was weak and hadn't pooped in 14 hours.
As people had pointed out the chick must have had other things wrong with
her.

My wife called me a little while ago to tell me the news. Here I am a
37 year old(37 today

) guy sitting in my work truck typing on my laptop
feeling horrible for this little chick. I'm even more upset for my wife who
nursed this little creature like you would not believe, Well, actually I think
most of you would believe. It's simply amazing how these little creatures
get under your skin.

uuuhhhuuuuu (deep breath)

Thanks again for the suggestions and help on this. It was a very good
learning experience and will make us more capable of handling this in the
future.

Thanks too for the platform to vent on.

 

[silkhope]

I'm so sorry

She was adorable.