Week old chick won't walk, laying on hocks.

[Tenrec]

Hello there. This morning I woke up to one of my little week old chickies laying in its substrate. I reached in to pick it up, and the chick made no efforts to run or stand up.

It's peeping mostly normally, and still has a full crop. I doubt that'll stay that way for long.

The chick can only lay on both its hocks. When I hold the chick upside-down, its legs tremble awfully. I am feeding unmedicated crumble, Nature Wise chick starter and grower, 18 percent. The chicks are on pine shavings.

Currently, I have Sav-A-Chick electrolyte solution and Brewer's yeast tablets. Should I add either of those to this lil guy's food/water? Anything else?

I have attached pictures. Please help, thank you



.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello there. This morning I woke up to one of my little week old chickies laying in its substrate. I reached in to pick it up, and the chick made no efforts to run or stand up.

It's peeping mostly normally, and still has a full crop. I doubt that'll stay that way for long.

The chick can only lay on both its hocks. When I hold the chick upside-down, its legs tremble awfully. I am feeding unmedicated crumble, Nature Wise chick starter and grower, 18 percent. The chicks are on pine shavings.

Currently, I have Sav-A-Chick electrolyte solution and Brewer's yeast tablets. Should I add either of those to this lil guy's food/water? Anything else?

I have attached pictures. Please help, thank you



.

Try to keep her hydrated - electrolytes should be fine for a couple of days. If I remember correctly brewers yeast contains B vitamins - B2(Riboflavin) is essential to leg health so you may want to try it - I'm not sure how much to give a chick. You could start by sprinkling a small amount on her food.

Let us know how she is doing.

 

[Tenrec]

How often should I assist her in drinking? I don't think she can do it herself...She will eat like an absolute pig if it's in font of her, however. Every two hours do it?

I'm putting a tbsp of brewer's yeast tab ground up per cup of food and have some Sav-a-Chick in her water. She's on paper towels right now in a separate brooder, and has one chick as a friend to cuddle with.

Slipped tendon doesn't tend to present bilaterally, right?

Thank you for your response. I'm attaching pictures that shows where she is right now...






Her feet are now facing laterally, legs splayed instead of under her as before. I could do a hobble, but I doubt that'll fix our problem...Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How often should I assist her in drinking? I don't think she can do it herself...She will eat like an absolute pig if it's in font of her, however. Every two hours do it?

I'm putting a tbsp of brewer's yeast tab ground up per cup of food and have some Sav-a-Chick in her water. She's on paper towels right now in a separate brooder, and has one chick as a friend to cuddle with.

Slipped tendon doesn't tend to present bilaterally, right?

Thank you for your response. I'm attaching pictures that shows where she is right now...






Her feet are now facing laterally, legs splayed instead of under her as before. I could do a hobble, but I doubt that'll fix our problem...Thoughts?

She may have a leg deformity like Varus/Valgus. You may want to try poultry vitamins like Poultry Nutri-Drench in addition to what you are doing - or eliminate the electrolytes and use the vitamins instead. Hobbling may help, but if it's a leg deformity, I'm not sure how much, especially if she doesn't seem to be able to stand.

Try to offer water every hour or so. Another way to get some fluids into her is offer wet chick starter - mix with a little warm water to soupy oatmeal consistency to see if she will take it. I've found that chicks (and adults) love wet feed. You can also try placing her in a chick chair to see if this will get her legs moving (photo shows "chick chair" idea).

Do the best you can, hopefully she will rally in a short time.

Photo by Artysrobin of BYC Chick Chairs

Valgus/Varus
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1051/leg-health-in-large-broilers/
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul.../noninfectious-skeletal-disorders-in-broilers

Very informative site on leg issues:
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[Tenrec]

I gave her a dose of Nutri-Drench, and will be giving the listed dosage every 8 hours. Changed water to clear. Will make sure she's got at least something in her crop + water every hour, thanks for the advice! I'll let you know if she likes the mush.

That does look suspiciously similar...Unfortunately, while her right hock seems okay tendon-wise, I ended up finding that her left tendon had slipped (laterally, is that usual?) out. Before casting, I was able to reposition it. I hope that heals up all well and good, I've not heard great things about slipped tendon in chicks.

Good idea on suspending her. Especially since one tendon slipped, she needs to be suspended mostly until it heals, right?

Here's what I got her in:



It's a little dust mask with a hole cut in it, so her legs can hang without touching the floor. I have a towel propped under her head so she can sleep with some neck support, if she likes.

She was fairly upset about being in this device, but forgot about it completely when I handed her some food, which she immediately devoured.



Before I fixed her casts, I placed her in the sling and laid her on her back so I could work with less distraction. I might consider doing this for fixing hobbles and etc, as it kept her fairly calm. Chicks were pretty bad about the kicking and screaming in the past.




Here she is without the sling...I hope I have everything placed right. Her thighs are splaying out, so I went ahead and hobbled her, so hopefully that doesn't get worse while she's slung. Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is adorable

I like your chick chair, very creative. I was looking back at my notes....Poultry Nutri-Drench is fine to use, but it doesn't have B2(Riboflavin) (?) She needs that as well - crush a human B-Complex tab and add it to her feed as well (you can still give the Nutri-Drench too). B vitamins are water soluble and any extra is excreted in the urine, so she will get rid of what she doesn't need. I can't believe I missed the Nutri-Drench not having it

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry This site I had linked has some good instructions on treating slipped tendon. Also lots of info here on BYC and youtube if you search for it.

Keep us posted.

 

[Tenrec]

She is adorable

I like your chick chair, very creative. I was looking back at my notes....Poultry Nutri-Drench is fine to use, but it doesn't have B2(Riboflavin) (?) She needs that as well - crush a human B-Complex tab and add it to her feed as well (you can still give the Nutri-Drench too). B vitamins are water soluble and any extra is excreted in the urine, so she will get rid of what she doesn't need. I can't believe I missed the Nutri-Drench not having it

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry This site I had linked has some good instructions on treating slipped tendon. Also lots of info here on BYC and youtube if you search for it.

Keep us posted.

Hey, thanks for the advice. I've been making sure she's been getting her B vitamins.

Unfortunately, I don't think she's going to make it. Her right leg has all but healed, but her left joint is swollen and to the point where the tendon just can't slip back into place. She can't walk, and is much smaller than her siblings...I thought I almost had her there, but I don't think it's right to keep her in a condition where she's in pain and cannot walk. I'll see about taking care of her tomorrow.

Again, thanks for your help. I only wish I knew what happened here, as all her siblings are doing okay.