- Oct 24, 2014
- 6
- 0
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Hello everyone
My 6 week old chicken has a twisted right leg that points to the side, almost backwards. He (pretty sure it's a rooster) eats and drinks normally and doesn't appear to be in pain, not even when I touch or examine the leg.
I first noticed it when he was about 4 weeks old and thought I was just going to see if it was getting better by itself. But it appears to be getting worse in that it turns backwards further and further.
He eats and drinks normally but I'm worried about it getting so bad that he can't walk properly anymore. Already now he seems to sit down and rest much more than the others do.
A bit of background information:
- Breed unknown, brown colour, probably a bit of Isa Brown or Rhode Island Red in it
- Wasn't on any slippery surface when young therefore splayed leg should be out of the question
- Fed with commercial chick starter feed therefore should have adequate nutrition
- Hatched in incubator, was a day late but temperature was stable during incubation and hatching was without problems
- Had funny looking droopy wing when young, was advised parents could possibly have been slightly inbred but the wing looks normal now
- None of the others from that batch have weird legs
- Was the first to grow feathers and was fully feathered at 5 weeks old
- Allowed to run around backyard twice a day for about half an hour and eats grass and gets the occasional silverbeet or cabbage plant leave as a treat but the treats wouldn't be enough to throw nutritional balance out of whack
I will try and take a good photo tomorrow and post it here.
I've looked it up online and I don't think it's splayed leg (no slippery surfaces) but it could be perosis from what I've read?
What's your experience with this? Can you treat it, if so, how?
Your advice is very much appreciated.
Cheers
Mkawa
My 6 week old chicken has a twisted right leg that points to the side, almost backwards. He (pretty sure it's a rooster) eats and drinks normally and doesn't appear to be in pain, not even when I touch or examine the leg.
I first noticed it when he was about 4 weeks old and thought I was just going to see if it was getting better by itself. But it appears to be getting worse in that it turns backwards further and further.
He eats and drinks normally but I'm worried about it getting so bad that he can't walk properly anymore. Already now he seems to sit down and rest much more than the others do.
A bit of background information:
- Breed unknown, brown colour, probably a bit of Isa Brown or Rhode Island Red in it
- Wasn't on any slippery surface when young therefore splayed leg should be out of the question
- Fed with commercial chick starter feed therefore should have adequate nutrition
- Hatched in incubator, was a day late but temperature was stable during incubation and hatching was without problems
- Had funny looking droopy wing when young, was advised parents could possibly have been slightly inbred but the wing looks normal now
- None of the others from that batch have weird legs
- Was the first to grow feathers and was fully feathered at 5 weeks old
- Allowed to run around backyard twice a day for about half an hour and eats grass and gets the occasional silverbeet or cabbage plant leave as a treat but the treats wouldn't be enough to throw nutritional balance out of whack
I will try and take a good photo tomorrow and post it here.
I've looked it up online and I don't think it's splayed leg (no slippery surfaces) but it could be perosis from what I've read?
What's your experience with this? Can you treat it, if so, how?
Your advice is very much appreciated.
Cheers
Mkawa