They are here! But need help with one!!

[Shellyb]

Hi everyone, I promise to post pics later but right now I have a tiny blue silkie chick that is having a hard time. It seems to be "favoring" one leg. It is smaller then the others and since it holds up it's right leg alot, the other EE's are picking on him/her. She has a hard time getting around and don't really see her eating much. I keep bringing her to the water and she will drink most of the time. I don't see anything obvious with the leg, what can I do for her????? She is a real sweetie and since I've been holding her so much, she's become my favorite quickly. Thanks in advance!

 

[The Lisser]

How old is she? Is it splay leg or something else?

I had a chick that went "lame" for a while too. I made a small enclosure for her out of pvc pipe and hardware cloth and used it to separate her in the brooder (which is a big dog kennel). That way she could see the other chicks but not get picked/walked on. I gave her her own food and water. She was about 2 1/2 weeks old when it started and after a couple weeks of rest she started walking again - by 4 weeks old she was totally normal again and back with the other chicks!!

Good luck!

 

[Shellyb]

2 days old, just hatched Monday. Sent from Meyer's Hatchery. Everyone looks good. I'm trying to find info on splayed leg but it seems like she is just holding it up, not stretching it out. Not sure what it is really.

 

[Lisa202]

Maybe she just injured her leg in transit. I would separate her too with her own food and water so her leg can rest.

 

[The Lisser]

Since she is so little, I would also recommend hand feeding her a couple times a day until she acts more perky. I had a Salmon Favorelle chick that was kind of "droopy" after shipping, and following the advice I got on here I mixed a slurry of chick food and warm water and put little bits on her beak so she would eat it. After a couple of days she got more energetic and started to eat on her own.

Good luck!!! I've heard that silkies are more fragile than some of the other breeds so she might just need some extra attention and TLC.

 

[Mak]

I had one chick in my bunch that was weaker than the others at first. I put her in her own box with heat lamp, food and water. I also hard boiled and mashed realy fine an egg and fed her that by hand for a few days. She loved it, and it seemed to help her get stronger more quickly. She was back with the rest in just a few days.

When they were older and out in the coop, one of them apparently injured a leg jumping off the roosts. She limped around quite a bit, and was getting pushed away from food, etc. I isolated her in a cage for a bit, with food and water, and she healed beautifully.

I guess I'm just saying getting them away from the competiton of the other chicks can work wonders to help build strength and heal. I hope she comes around quickly!

 

[BWKatz]

I had one of mine do that. I don't know if it makes any difference but they were from Meyer's too. They got the Maran's vaccination and I wondered if it just didn't take. She did get better aover a couple of weeks but has always remained smaller than the others. That hasn't stopped her from getting her fair share of feed & treats. Of course I only have 4 chicks. Just baby her a little while and she should get better. Mine walks fine now , runs like the dickens and flys too. Good luck &

 

[Shellyb]

Well, I've seperated her but with a friend that I think may now have a problem too, urrggg!!. I found another blue silkie wedged under the waterer, she was wet and a little shaken but seemed ok soon after. But then I noticed that her bottom seems protruding/pulsating. Tried watching for her to "go" but she won't. Seems constipated. There are actually two areas that are weird on her, her rectum and a little closer to her belly. Saw a couple of other chicks with weird things going on from what I would call an umbilical cord area??? Is that even possible with chicks??? So, I have my little hospital box seperating them, then I have the 5 healthy silkie's seperated from the 11? EE's. Quite the operation for me considering this is only my second time with chicks and last time was sooooo smooth. Any ideas???

 

[SassyKat6181]

Quote:
A few of my chicks from the hatchery had an umbilical cord still intact.

The Umbilical Cord
Some baby chicks will arrive to you with an intact, attached umbilical cord. It looks like a very thin black string, attached to their rear. For heaven's sake, don't pull it! It's not "pasting up"! Just leave it alone. It will fall off within a day or two. Pulling it can really injure them.