Week old silkie chick won't stand up, has curled toes?

[silkiechick1994]

So I bought some silkie chicks from Murray McMurray and, to my disappointment, I didn't get half of what I ordered and the chicks that I did get were very sickly. This saddens me as I've always ordered from them and have always been satisfied.

I have a buff silkie chick who at first seemed fine but then after day 3 would not stand up. I now have her in a cage inside with another chick she has bonded with to keep her company. She had curled toes and would not open them but I found an article that said taping small cut outs from a cereal box to her feet and keeping them flat for 24 hours would help that. It worked great!

But she still won't stand up even though I've been giving her a suplement called Life Lytes. Is there any cure to this? I've been giving it to get for the last 3 days. She will eat and drink just fine but no standing or walking. She fights when I pick her up and puts up a fuss so I know she's not on her deathbed but I would very much like to know what is going on. Does anyone else know of anything that will help her?

Much appreciated!

 

[DDNONIN2016]

Sorry your chick wont stand. I am having the same trouble with 2 older hens right now. One day fine the next day wouldnt stand. They are both walking a little now but with toes curled under only on one foot. I hope someone replies that can help. I will be watching this thread. Hope your chick gets better.

Wanted to add that I have been giving boiled eggs and yogurt and Apple cider vinegar in their waterer. That at least got them thru the first few days until they could walk again. Good luck to you

 

[realsis]

This could possibly be a vitamin deficiency.I raise silkies and it seems they for some reason are more prone to get vitamin defiency. because her legs are involved I'd try riboflavin and E and B. Riboflavin being most important for her legs. It won't hurt to give it a try.I do know riboflavin defiency can present itself this way. I've always tried to give my silkies extra vitamins because I know they get prone to defiency however I did not give enough vitamin E and one of mine came down with wry neck at 6 months old three weeks ago. after a course of vitamins specifically E she is back to normal thank God. I would defiently give the vitamins a try. If it is a vitamin defiency it can take three weeks to a month to cure. Some sooner than others. I'd give it a try and see if it helps. Have patients. If it is a defiency it can take some time. Make sure she's able to eat and drink.. Hope this helps and hope she gets well soon. Its sure worth a try. Best wishes.

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Can the she not stand by choice, or is sonmething wrong with her leg?

 

[silkiechick1994]

Well now that I think about it her legs seem a lot smaller than the other chicks I have and they don't seem to have much muscle on them but I can't tell if that's because she hasn't been using them or if she has some kind of disfigurement. Her feet kinda seem cramped up and her toes are starting to curl up again too. She's also leaning off to one side and uses her wings to try and balance.

 

[danegal2]

I am having the same problem with one of my chicks I got from MPCs yesterday. She won't stand up and her feet and legs are just fine. She keeps throwing her head back and falls to her side. I got up in the night to give her sugar water and yogurt and to my surprise she is still alive. I have her in a coffee mug to keep the other chicks from walking on her. This morning for the first time she is at least laying on her belly.
Any suggestions to what might be causing this?

 

[silkiechick1994]

Update!!! I did a little more research and found out that she had a dislocation in her hip which caused one of her legs to stick out at the side. I managed to pop her hip back into place and she seems to be much happier. I put some vet wrap around her legs to give her some support and a band aid to keep her legs together more and so far it's worked! She's standing and even walking around a bit. This is such a huge improvement from how she was before. I've also continued giving her the Life Lytes vitamin water and some yogurt and boiled egg mix. She goes nuts over the mix and cheeps until I give her some now. It goes to show that a little time and some TLC can do a lot. I really hope this helps someone else with their chick.

 

[danegal2]

Well my chick died Wednesday morning, but their was nothing I could do. It was my EE chick so I ordered another 4 since that was my minimum. They came Thursday all happy and healthy. Now I have 16 chicks, more than I wanted but luckily my coop is big enough.

 

[Animalfreak382]

This was posted a couple years ago... but my chick its holding up her leg and won't put it down. Most of her toes are curled as well.. do I splint the whole leg or just the toes?

 

[CrazyHatchingLady]

Update!!! I did a little more research and found out that she had a dislocation in her hip which caused one of her legs to stick out at the side. I managed to pop her hip back into place and she seems to be much happier. I put some vet wrap around her legs to give her some support and a band aid to keep her legs together more and so far it's worked! She's standing and even walking around a bit. This is such a huge improvement from how she was before. I've also continued giving her the Life Lytes vitamin water and some yogurt and boiled egg mix. She goes nuts over the mix and cheeps until I give her some now. It goes to show that a little time and some TLC can do a lot. I really hope this helps someone else with their chick.

I have two right now I am treating for curled toes who won't stand. How did you tell her hip was out of place? The scoot/crawl on their legs.