what to do with a "gimpy legged" chicklette

[kstavert]

One of my chicks has a gimpy leg...

It took me too long to find out what was
wrong to be able to do anything to help
to fix the leg....

apparently, it is something like a "slipped
achilles tendon"

So, one foot/leg is pretty much useless...

She hobbles about and leans on things...

She is growing very slowly compared to
the other chicks that hatched about the
same time.... at about 3 weeks, she is
almost half the size of the rest of them

Is it cruel to keep her alive???? It breaks
my heart to watch her...and, I haven't the
heart to put her down... though, if that is
TRULY the most "humane" thing to do,
I will...

the other chicklettes that are in with her
do not bother her... they are often all
lying snuggled together... and, I know that
the adults can be really nasty to one another.
thank you for your help.... Karen

 

[gabrielle1976]

my gimpy baby then and now , i had to help her eat and drink for a while now she is independent

 

[OR4-hmom]

i have a couple of special needs birds from the chicks I got 3 years ago. Bruiser is a tiny little Dutch bantam who was diagnosed as "failure to thrive", she shares a pen with a partridge rock that sounds like your chick. Precious has arthritis in the joints of her right leg. She would sleep with her bad leg propped up on the tray feeder in the broody box. She moves very erraticaly but she is happy sharing her space with Bruiser, she looks like a young chick when I go in and she has been sleeping under her wing. Precious doesn't lay as often as the others but I never expected her to lay at all.

 

[kstavert]

I LOVE the little walker you made
for your baby... I was trying to think of
how to do something similar

Sooooo happy that no one said "put her
down"....

thank you

 

[kstavert]

thank you for sharing your story about your
ladies... I don't expect anything from her and
am happy to do whatever I need to to make
her life comfortable thank you thank you

 

[gabrielle1976]

I LOVE the little walker you made
for your baby... I was trying to think of
how to do something similar

Sooooo happy that no one said "put her
down"....

thank you

Have legos will travel lol with a cut out little piece of washrag to sit in with little leg and butt holes lol , she hated it but it helped I think

 

[Poppy17]

One of my chicks has a gimpy leg...

It took me too long to find out what was
 wrong to be able to do anything to help
to fix the leg....

apparently, it is something like a "slipped
achilles tendon"

So, one foot/leg is pretty much useless...

She hobbles about and leans on things...

She is growing very slowly compared to
the other chicks that hatched about the
same time.... at about 3 weeks, she is
almost half the size of the rest of them

Is it cruel to keep her alive????  It breaks
my heart to watch her...and, I haven't the
heart to put her down... though, if that is
TRULY the most "humane" thing to do,
I will... 

the other chicklettes that are in with her
do not bother her... they are often all
lying snuggled together...  and, I know that
the adults can be really nasty to one another.
thank you for your help.... Karen

I have the same problem! I have had her legs tied together for two days but it hasn't seemed to have helped. She doesn't want to out any weight on one leg at all. She is smaller and less active than the others and seems tired. Does anyone have chickens that have grown up using one leg??

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have read stories on BYC about chickens with only one working leg who hop around fine.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry
below quote is from poultrypedia:

"If the tendon has been out of place more than a few days, it may be unbearably painful to the bird to try to fix it or may cause damage. You could try gradually stretching the leg the leg a number of times a couple days to lengthen the tendon, & then try correcting the placement.
This is especially true of young chicks because their legs are growing so quickly. Various bones, tendons & muscles will have done a lot of growing in just a couple of days and may have become too short, long or twisted so they can't allow the achilles tendon to be back in the correct location."

 

[kstavert]

thank you....

I did try stretching her leg gently/repeatedly
during the first week and it made no difference
so, I let her be... she made a lot of noise and
fuss and I was afraid I was hurting her....

she is about 1/3 the size of a chicklet that hatched
two days AFTER she did...

I'm waiting until they all feather out well before
putting them outside... I'm just afraid to put
her out... not sure how she will do in colder
weather...

anyway, I really appreciate all of the help and
answers...

i'm trying to figure out how I can create a
mobility contraption for her as she grows...

it would seem that small wheels would easily
get caught on so many things in their pen...

Again, thanks to all

 

[kstavert]

You are a wonderful chicklet mummy....

so very creative, too... you could market
your little chicklet chariot

thank you