Straddle Leg?

[owly]

Hi, one of my broad breasted bronze turkeys is showing some leg problems. He/she is about three weeks old. His hock bends inward, towards his other leg. Instead of his foot facing forward, it's completely twisted, and it faces to the side. Whenever he puts weight on it, it just slides out from under him. He does not seem to be in pain. I checked for broken bones but found nothing. What should I do?

 

[MrsBachbach]

Hi, one of my broad breasted bronze turkeys is showing some leg problems. He/she is about three weeks old. His hock bends inward, towards his other leg. Instead of his foot facing forward, it's completely twisted, and it faces to the side. Whenever he puts weight on it, it just slides out from under him. He does not seem to be in pain. I checked for broken bones but found nothing. What should I do?

Tough one. Do you know what is causing it? Injury? Deficiency in some vitamin/mineral? Or genetic deformity?
It may not be fixable at this stage. I don't know much about raising turkeys except I know they get heavy. All I could think of doing is making a stiff brace out of something that would fit between both legs (good leg being support for bad leg), attach above the hocks, yet allow for just enough movement for walking. It would have to be able to move freely on the shank to allow for walking movement yet stay above the hock. Maybe a ring of some type? The stiff bar in between would push the hock where it should be and keep it from moving in. And, since this is a growing bird, you would have to be able to either adjust it for growth or replace it when needed. Sometimes us poultry owners have to be ingenious in gathering materials and coming up with designs. I imagine this would have to be worn for several weeks or longer to help with the problem. The underlying issue would still need to be addressed. I would try extra vitamin/mineral supplements every few days for the duration. That's all I can think of. It may or may not work.

 

[owly]

I think it may be an injury of some sort, since it just seemed to happen overnight. I don't know how he could have twisted it, though. I have tried the brace idea a couple times now, still trying to make something he and the others can't pick off.
Thank you for this.