Spraddle Leg - Splay Leg Treatment Instructions

[PoultryPedia]

Yay!!!

So happy to hear she recovered so well! Thanks for letting us know!

 

[Sarah4]

Here is willow my gold laced Orpington with splayed leg. I have to isolate her from mom and other babies Bc she would fall over and get stepped on. She is now inside next to the heat lamp and a stuffed animal. She will sometimes fall over and shriek like the house is on fire, I'm scared she won't be able to get back up so I go in there and upright her. Will she die if I just leave her to figure out how to get back up after falling on her side? She has a brace on and this is the first full day she has worn it.

 

[PoultryPedia]

If she is more than 3 or 4 days old, it is likely her problem can't be fixed. It looks like her condition might be too far progressed.
If it can still be fixed, Physical Therapy would probably help her. There is some info on that on the Poultry Podiatry page on the site linked in my sig below. You could try to help her practice rolling & pushing up with her wing to help her learn to get back up, in addition to practice standing. It would probably take a day or two of practice for her to understand & develop her muscles enough.

Very sorry for this trouble you're facing. It's good she has you to try to help as much as you can, and to give her tender caring.

 

[Sarah4]

She was is 3 days old and I put the brace on last night and by this morning she was standing which she wasn't yesterday. I took the brace off a few hours ago and her legs are already looking better. She was able to stand and walk a little ways without the brace but I put it back on to make her stronger. She is climbing out of her make shift chick hospital bed so she is strong and a fighter. I have hope she will pull through since she has made so much progress in so little time

 

[Sarah4]

Here she/he is (hopefully a girl so I can keep her) willow or perhaps William. Getting stronger everyday. She now can be outside with her brace with her siblings and mom and does just fine. I'll take the brace off tomorrow to see the progress.

 

[lafaye616]

Thank you so much for this post! I had a chick hatch with this problem. He is now walking around with no problems. Can't even tell which one it was anymore!

 

[actressdancer]

Any hope for a 10 day old chick? I gave hatching eggs to a school and they came home with 1 possibly splayed. The chick limps on the "bad"leg like a human would with a twisted ankle. But when he stops moving to stand still, the leg goes out from under him.

Is it too late at 10 days old?

 

[Eggcessive]

You can still try, it's always best to figure out if it is splayed legs or possibly a slipped tendon. Start some poultry vitamins right away in the water. Scroll up to post 163 by Speckled Hills, and click on her Poulty Pedia link for info.

 

[actressdancer]

My farm co-op advised I use this. And I have been. How do I tell if it's s slipped tendon? [The teacher confirmed yestetday that it was hatched out this way.]

 

[Eggcessive]

With slipped tendon, the chick will usually have a leg the sticks our to the side. Some of these deformities are called varus valgus deformity. Leg bone deformities are unfortunately very common in chicks. When they are born in a hatchery, they are usually put down. When people hatch them at home, then they have to deal with the problem or cull. It is usually not treatable, but sometimes these chicks can survive in a small flock with a little extra care. I'm really not an expert on this, but just have some interest in the subject. Here are some links to help you determine if it is one of the common leg bone deformities:
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._of_the_intertarsal_joint_in_broiler_chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...chick-anyone-ever-try-to-fix-this-experiences
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/220/slipped-tendon-perosis/
https://poultrykeeper.com/skeletal-and-muscular-disorders/slipped-tendon/

Twisted legs