Week old keet, slipped tendons on both legs

[DogwoodMtnFarm]

New member and new keet owner. We have 16 keets, a week old today, fed turkey/gambird crumbles 30% protein, on paper towels we change 2X day, using a heater lamp. Last night when I checked on them all 16 were zipping around, flapping their little wings and jumping across the brooder box; they've been eating drinking and pooping quite well and have all gotten bigger with feathers coming in nicely. They came in the mail Thursday 5/30 from a reputable Guinea and Pea Fowl breeder and had Sav-A-Chick probiotics and electrolytes the first 24 hours and fresh water since. We change the towels and their water twice a day. I scrub the drown-proof waterer with Dawn and a spot of bleach each time then rinse well to keep them healthy.

This morning I discovered one keet who is hobbling around on its hocks with useless looking feet. It's still eating and probably drinking. It's stiff quite feisty and puts up quite the vocal protestation when I pick it up. I've been reading everything I can and watching videos to figure this out. I've compared its legs to the legs of healthy, active keets and it appears to be slipped tendons. I can manipulate the tendons to the correct spot but they don't stay in place.

I'm willing to do the work to make a chair, wrap both legs, do PT, etc with the keet *IF* it has a good chance of recovery but I don't want to traumatize the poor thing or cause unneccesary pain. If culling is best the Hubster will do that (I'm too soft hearted at this point in our homesteading journey.)

Thanks for any suggestions!
God Bless,

Trish
Dogwood Mtn Farm

 

[Tookie]

Have you tried using the band aid method? If not I would try that. Cut a band aid down the middle, length wise, and wrap the sticky sides around the leg and back onto the band aid to hold it. That should help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Slipped Tendon can be hard to correct, but you try.
The thread below is for PeaFowl but he's been the most successful in treating Slipped Tendon.
I'd read the whole thread, but I gave you a couple of links in the thread that shows how he helped stabilize and get the tendons in place.

I would also start giving 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily.

Hobbling will not help correct slipped tendon.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/peachick-with-slipped-tendon.1092979/post-20187810
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/peachick-with-slipped-tendon.1092979/page-2#post-16817050

 

[DogwoodMtnFarm]

**UPDATE** We have the keet's legs taped with some hollow, sliced open Nerf darts bracing them. It wasn't easy, it's a small keet and we've never done this before, but it's moving its toes and the toes are warm. Building the "sling" out of a glove wasn't too difficult and the keet seems to be adjusting to it. We tried for an hour to build a chick chair but nothing seemed to work so we took a different tack and put the keet on its belly with the legs stretched out behind in a PVC pipe. It's not particularly happy but we gave it a mirror so it can see its buddies when they aren't next to it and food and water within easy reach.

The Hubster set up a remote camera so he can monitor the keet while he works and it has been eating and drinking and seems to like watching its buddies in the mirror. We'll try to build the chair again tonight after the Hubster finishes work but for now the keet is in a good place, being monitored and not stressed out from hanging from a glove having the big heads mess with it. We were so excited when it started eating and drinking! I'm trying not to get attached because I know this is a long shot but it's a very strong, feisty little keet and there are a lot of folks praying for it. We're going to move all the keets into a bigger brooder of some kind when the brooder plate I ordered arrives tomorrow so they have more room to run, jump and be keets. 2' X 3' is a bit small for 16 quickly growing keets.

Thanks for the advice and prayers and good thoughts. I took a few pictures of the little one and the set up we went with.

Thanks,
Trish

 

[DogwoodMtnFarm]

This is one feisty little keet I've got on my hands! This afternoon I made sure its feet were warm and the tape wasn't too tight. I cleaned the Nerf "casts" and made it a new sling/overalls that fit a bit better. It doesn't like the overalls or being suspended so it's resting on it's breast with its legs dangling beneath it. It can move a little and access food and water in front of it. It has these little mini-meltdowns where it squirms like mad and makes more noise than a creature as tiny as it is should be able to. They only last a second or two and then it's back to watching its keet friends from above them and eating from the tiny cup directly in front of it.

While i was changing the Nerf "casts", cleaning it up and building the chick chair I was giving it water from a syringe. It will rap on the syringe if the flow stops and has drank quite a bit today. The water has "Sav-A-Chick" probiotics and electrolytes mixed in. I think it's gotten spoiled and doesn't want to drink from its tiny water dish. It's had a good appetite all day and was drinking when it was laying down with its bound legs directly behind it. It's pooping, alert and vocal - the things a 9 day old keet should be doing.

I bought some human B-complex yesterday but all I could find was caplet form. I have a mortar and pestle so I can pulverize it to mix it in the water if someone can tell me how much I should put in the water. The Hubster set up a camera so I can watch it live and make sure it's still eating and drinking and doesn't need anything.

Is there anything else I can or should be doing for this little one? Is there anything I've missed or need to redo? I know this little one's chances of survival aren't good but it's so Fiesty we want to give it a chance as long as it wants to keep trying.

Thanks,
Trish

PS: it's a white chick in a white glove so hard to see, but it's in the lower left hand corner of the picture. The cup of food is directly in front of it on the left and the cup of water is next to it on the right.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I bought some human B-complex yesterday but all I could find was caplet form. I have a mortar and pestle so I can pulverize it to mix it in the water if someone can tell me how much I should put in the water.

You are doing a wonderful job!
I'm pulling for this little one.

As for the B-Complex, normally you'd give 1/4 of a tablet or capsule, so judge it the best you can.

B Vitamins are water soluble, meaning excess if flushed out of the system fairly quickly with the urates, so it's hard to overdose on B-Vitamins, so if you end up with something like a 1/3 it's not that bad. And you are only going to give the B-Complex for a few weeks.

Please do continue to give updates and share photos. This will be so helpful to others now and in the future. I learn so much from others and am always amazed at how creative folks can be.

 

[DogwoodMtnFarm]

Our little keet is still being feisty while stuck in the chick chair and letting us know it's not particularly happy with the confinement. Being upright and being able to look down and sort of be a part of the flock seems to be helping. It gets very frustrated and tries to escape the chair and its "overalls" and really doesn't like having its legs dangling. I loosened the overalls over its back since it can't get up without its legs and it was much happier. It's been eating and drinking well and I use a syringe to give it drops of water if it wants them to make sure it's staying dehydrated.

We monitor the keet via a camera and earlier today one of the larger keets decided to jump up on him and the chair and eat its food. The top of the chair is above their heads so this one must've made one heck of a jump to get up there. There was plenty of fresh food in the feeder but I guess it thought the little keet was getting something better. I ran up the stairs, opened the door and it just looked at me as if to say "what?" After shooing it off injured keet's head I moved the water and feed stations on the floor closer to the chick chair so that the bullies can't jump back on its head. The other 15 keets congregate below and around the chick chair so Injured keet isn't too lonely.

When should we remove the tape and braces from its legs to see if the stabilization and immobilization has worked? We saw it not walking Tuesday mid-morning and put it in the braces early Thursday morning; it is 10 days old on Saturday morning.

We've had so many people praying for this feisty little keet. Our pastor, who's a farmer and grew up on a farm, probably thinks I've lost my mind but he and his wife are still praying.

Thanks to all who have given advice and encouragement, it's elped tremendousely!

Trish

 

[DogwoodMtnFarm]

The keet is still doing well but it's falling behind most of the others in size since it was injured Tuesday morning and has been in the chick chair since Thursday morning. When should I remove the braces and tape from its leg?

The biggest 3 keets of the 16 we have are jumping all over, including on injured keets head/chick chair to eat its food. We need a bigger brooder for them so we're looking at a 2'w X 6'l X 2'h stock tank for them. The new 20 chick brooder plate has arrived but we'll supplement it with the heat lamp until they feather out.

We'd like to keep them all together but we worry about the 3 smaller healthy keets and the injured keet getting run over and having to maybe fight for food and water. I ordered 6 nipples and 6 cups for the watering system so I think 12 "stations" will be sufficient for 16 keets. We're also going to add another food station.

I bought some hack pads for flooring instead of paper towels. It's much easier to roll up the old and roll down the new one. When should we switch them to a different bedding material? I've read so many differing opinions on bedding, like just about everything else!

Thanks to everyone who's offered advice to a Noob!

~Trish
NW Georgia Mountains

 

[DogwoodMtnFarm]

You are doing a wonderful job!
I'm pulling for this little one.

As for the B-Complex, normally you'd give 1/4 of a tablet or capsule, so judge it the best you can.

B Vitamins are water soluble, meaning excess if flushed out of the system fairly quickly with the urates, so it's hard to overdose on B-Vitamins, so if you end up with something like a 1/3 it's not that bad. And you are only going to give the B-Complex for a few weeks.

Please do continue to give updates and share photos. This will be so helpful to others now and in the future. I learn so much from others and am always amazed at how creative folks can be.

Thanks so much for the advice!! I make their water every day using water from our well that's been filtered with 3 different systems. Probably overkill but I'm a first time keet Mom Since we have 16 keets I pulverized 4 tablets in a mortar & pestal then placed that in the container I use for their water. It's probably 48 oz total. I figure it can't hurt the other keets. We have one with curled toes (ugh) so were hoping this will help all of them. At lest that one won't have to be confined to the chick chair for 3 day! It's actually a white one like the injured baby so maybe from the same parents? All others are doing great, thankfully!

Talk about trial by fire!

Thanks and God Bless,
~Trish

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would carefully read that thread I linked for you and glean the info from there. Likely you need to see about taking the splints off now.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/peachick-with-slipped-tendon.1092979/post-25598890