Swollen leg, limping silkie.. help!

[JoannaRae]

Hello all! I returned from out of town yesterday and noticed one of my 2 month old silkies was limping. After taking a closer look, her one leg appears swollen in its entirety. The foot seems fine however. The hole leg seems to turn inward slightly in comparison to the other leg and she won’t put much weight on it. The leg does not feel as if there is fluid in the joint, it feels very hard and bone-like. What could this be? Injury or a growth deformity? Is this fixable? Any advice is appreciated! It’s breaking my heart to see her struggling...

 

[JoannaRae]

Looking at the photos, it’s the leg on the left

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be injured, but it may be a leg bone deformity that gets worse as the chicken ages. It is called varus-valgus deformity. One looks like knock knees, while the other looks like bow legs, and it can be on only one leg or both.​

 

[JoannaRae]

It could be injured, but it may be a leg bone deformity that gets worse as the chicken ages. It is called varus-valgus deformity. One looks like knock knees, while the other looks like bow legs, and it can be on only one leg or both.​

Thank you for your reply! What is the typical outcome of this? Can it
Correct itself over time?

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not certain that is her problem, but if it is, there is no treatment. She may be able to get around on her own in a small flock, or she could someday suffer a ruptured hock tendon. There are some good threads about "Slipped tendon in a chick," where people have raised chicks with slipped tendons which are similar to this. Some people will try splinting the leg with vet wrap strips to help stabilize the leg. You might get some better advice from a vet.