I just wanted to post a few pics with our experience with Little Red Broken Baby. We call her Libby and she is a Rhode Island Red. When I picked her out of the brooder, there were so many chicks, I didn't realize she was stumbling around until I got her home. It was too late. I couldn't take her back because I knew she would be thrown away. Looking more closely, I found a few more toes than normal, as well as little Pterodactyl claws on her wings. She squated a lot, and would kind of roll over to the food and water. Her right leg kept shooting out to the side. Within two days she quit trying to move but would eat and drink when I put her up to the feeders. The other chicks were tromping on her. The girls that were four days older would just stand on her until I thought they broke her wings because she used them so much for balance they were always spread out.
So I turned to the always dependable BackYard Chicken forum! I read about binding the legs and thought there was hope. I tried it for two days, but the others harassed her constantly and picked at the bandages (I tried both bandaids and the self-stick tape mentioned) until they got them off, and then raced around the brooder playing keep-away like maniacs.
So for the next week I took that girl out 3 or 4 times a day and turned her upside down and just held her little feet in my fingers and tugged gently. I was so relieved that it worked! She is now running around with the other 8, and nobody picks on her. She never lost her appetite but didn't grow until this week when she is now looking like a little mini dumpling. She waddles a bit like a duck when she walks, but I'm so happy she is moving!
Thank you BackYard Chickens.com and all the members who share their experiences and expertise! Truly appreciated.
So I turned to the always dependable BackYard Chicken forum! I read about binding the legs and thought there was hope. I tried it for two days, but the others harassed her constantly and picked at the bandages (I tried both bandaids and the self-stick tape mentioned) until they got them off, and then raced around the brooder playing keep-away like maniacs.
So for the next week I took that girl out 3 or 4 times a day and turned her upside down and just held her little feet in my fingers and tugged gently. I was so relieved that it worked! She is now running around with the other 8, and nobody picks on her. She never lost her appetite but didn't grow until this week when she is now looking like a little mini dumpling. She waddles a bit like a duck when she walks, but I'm so happy she is moving!
Thank you BackYard Chickens.com and all the members who share their experiences and expertise! Truly appreciated.
