Splinting a Turkey Leg (Advice Needed)

[brodysam]

One of my bronze turkey poults has a leg that has turned out a bit and appears to be a little weak. I'm thinking of splinting it but need to know how to do it. It can walk on it and is moving well, but there is a significant difference in the weak leg and the other leg.

 

[lilchick]

I would make a hobble for it. Use a bandaid or pipe cleaner to hold them together. Look up spraddle leg and it tells in detail how to do it. What will happen if you let it go is eventually it will be unable to walk and have to be culled.

 

[brodysam]

Ok, thanks!

 

[brodysam]

Also, how long do you leave the hobble on? My poult is about a month old, is he/she too old for spraddle leg?

 

[lilchick]

Most of the time they are born with the leg off set and you can hobble it right away and usually a couple days will fix it. If it develops after a few weeks it is much harder to fix. can be genetic or lack of protein in diet causing it.. They grow so fast and like meat birds need good feed.
I have one now that is 6 weeks old and just now showing signs.. It has 1 leg slightly turned out and the joint looks different than other. I hobbled it yesterday and it is getting food and water in the brooder on it's own. I will take it off every few days to see if it works. Hope you can get yours fixed also...

 

[brodysam]

Ok, thank you.

 

[raspberry01]

maybe this string is too old...I have 14 day old Heritage poults. 2 have developed what looks like spraddle, but the bottom on one their foot pads is swollen. Not bumblefoot I'm familer with this.-they're in a large enough brooder, but are always flying off the top of their feeders into the walls. I used paper towels over pine shavings up until Saturday. Could they have pulled tendons and weak due to vitamin deficiencies? I noticed one on Saturday, and now it can't stand, then noticed another limping yesterday, picked it up and sure enough, swollen foot. Should I HOBBLE their legs together? I've already seperated these 2 out. Drinking and eating OK.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Hobbling the leg will work if you catch it soon enough, I don't know if it will work or not in older poults of after it's been going on for awhile. Not trying to sound cruel but any we hatch that aren't strong and healthy get culled.

Somebody had posted this link on another thread, it shows how to make the hobble

http://www.poultryhelp.com/spraddle.html


We don't leave them on a smooth surface more than a day or 2 at the most before we put them on pine shavings.

Steve in NC

 

[raspberry01]

I know I should have taken them off the towels earlier-but they were still eating pine shavings. I kept testing them. Arrgghh. I hate loosing birds, I take it so personal.. And after spending $75.00 for 10 birds, to be down to 7- And they havent even gone into their coop yet!

 

[Memphisjourney2seramas]

I just found this post and it has a really good link on how to make a hobble and what it is used for. I though I would put it out there just in case someone else needed it.