Spraddle Leg - Splay Leg Treatment Instructions

[Sylviaanne]

I have a new born, yesterday, with a splay leg and curled feet. I can band aid the legs together but how do I do the legs and feet? Then what do I do with the baby? Alone or ok with other babies?

 

[PoultryPedia]

There is helpful information on all those questions on the Poultry Podiatry page on the website linked in my sig below.
Wishing you the best with your chick!

 

[melonhead]

I have a newly hatched Polish chick with what I assume is spraddle leg. We put her in hobbles and it's definitely helping to keep the legs in, but as you can see from the photo, her one foot turns out. So she's still not walking on the feet correctly. The weird thing is, she seems to be trying to walk on the turned foot, so she's turned sideways with the "good" leg in the air

 

[melonhead]

Here's a pic of how she's carrying her foot. Should I just let it go as is and see how it works out? Or any ideas on anything else I should try? I should mention that I have an 8 year old daughter who is already smitten with this baby.

 

[Lelilamom]

Just wanted to post that I had a Red Sex Link with splay leg at 3 days. I splinted the leg with regular bandaids and kept her in her own enclosure in the brooder with food and water for 5 days and she made a full recovery. She's 14 weeks old now and running, jumping and flying like the others and only a chicken mama knows which one she is by her coloring.

I now have a 3 wk old cornish cross meat bird with splay leg that I'm attempting to get back up on her feet the same way. I splinted her two days ago with duct tape (bandaids are too flimsy for meat birds) and today she stood up and took two steps.

I hope you all have success with healing splay leg.

 

[PoultryPedia]

melonhead--
It is very important that she NOT walk on the leg while twisting it. I would use band-aids &/or sports tape to bring her legs a little CLOSER together & to also try to use the pull offered by the tape's stickiness to try to 'help rotate the turned leg back in (by making one side of the leg have more tension on it from the loop of tape that goes between both legs.
When the chick stands, if the hock on her twisted leg rotates in toward the other hock (which it probably does), it would really help to do some Physical Therapy (See Poultry Podiatry page on website in my sig) while pressing the hock out into correct position. This will really help the chick to discover she can be successful at walking with her legs in correct positions.
Once you make this adjustment, if the chick does not put weight on both legs and the twisted leg does not rotate back some, it would be best to put the chick in a chick chair for 3+ days with the hobbles on while her twisted leg starts rotating back. If the chick practices walking while she is able to use the leg in a twisted manner, her brain will program in the twisted movement & she will imprint that pattern in her brain as the way to walk. Her legs will become permanently & increasingly deformed after that.
These changes need to be made ASAP for the chick to have a good chance.
Best wishes!

 

[craftyshanna]

I'm a first-time chicken mommy and have had 4 girls for about a week. I am guessing based on posts by ChickenObsessed that it is too late to help my ~7 week old chicken Snape. She has deformed feet and splayed legs. She can't stand up well (and is getting worse as she gets bigger) and sort of flops/flaps from place to place. If there is anything I can do to improve her feet or legs at this point, please let me know. If not, I would love advice on what I can do to make her life easier! I adopted her intentionally since I figured she would have a better life with me than as someone's dinner, which would likely have been her lot if I didn't take her.

Below see pics of her - front view, top view, and each foot. I took her to the vet school clinic yesterday (one of the best in the country), but the exotics doc said that she had a congenital deformity and there was nothing to be done.

 

[PoultryPedia]

The vet is correct that her legs & feet cannot be treated at this point.
You can help her be comfortable by providing good flooring/bedding, hock cushions, & protection from other chickens (unless you happen to find a buddy that is extremely considerate). A foam leg brace is a possibility, but I don't recommend it a lot, because it takes constant work to adjust to prevent chafing & allow for the chicken's growth. She might also enjoy a small mirror (though some chickens ignore them), and/or a stuffed animal or towel to cuddle against.
There is info on most of these helps on the Poultry Podiatry page on the website linked in my sig below.
As you've seen, her deformities & discomfort will continue to increase as she grows. Watch how she's doing & listen in your heart. There will be a time when you should send her on to fly into the arms of God.

May you be comforted in this difficult process. I have experienced it (There are photos of my sweet pullet in the Foam Leg Brace section of the webpage), & it is hard. But you will have sweet times to treasure along the way.

 

[craftyshanna]

Thank you. It was actually you who I meant when I said ChickenObsessed. I see that is your status, not your name.

Snape is currently happy when she is with her "sisters" and likes to snuggle with them. She and the Welsummer battle it out to see who can climb under the others. They seem to still think they are little chicks.

I have caught the Orp giving her a peck every now and then, so I will definitely keep an eye on things and make sure she isn't getting beat up by the others. I will also look in more detail at your podiatry page for things to help her feet and legs be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible - a friend had already sent it to me and an initial browse through was what gave me hope that I might be able to do something for her.

Thanks again for your answers and moral support!

 

[campchickens]

I have a little chick who struggled for her first few days, keeping her legs tightly curled up against her chest and rolling around on her back. While it didn't look like spraddle leg (she came out of the incubator like this), we treated it as such and she was walking within the hour. Fast forward a few days-- she broke out of the tape, which we took as a sign of strength, but I think she might have since twisted one leg outward, because she has a strange stance: perched on her left leg, with her right leg way out in front. She still gets to food and water, but walks horribly. We tried to tape her up again last night but she broke free by this morning. Should I worry about it? We don't mind a limping chicken in our group, but I want to do the best I can for our flock.