Leg problem among other things (pictures included)

I should have noticed this when I took the last 3 out this morning, but I didn't. They were dry, but 2 were dry-caked and all 3 were laying down, rolling around, you know, what new chicks on a wire floor do, stumbling over eggs.

Anyways, all the chicks look great except this one. He stands funny, walks funny, is still caked and had a pasty butt I cleaned, as his (now, I say his.. I dunno, just go with it!) vent was completely covered. It looks like he still has a yolk sack..? I circled it in red in one picture. This doesn't look like spraddle leg... is this just a defect?

I had to separate him as the other chicks were picking at him, trying to get at the above mentioned circled red part on him. I gave him food and water, I don't know what else to do for him.

I'm sorry of many of the pictures look the same and some are out of focus -- was trying to make sure I showed the issue clearly.

I have crunchy chicks somewhat like this that hatch late. I let my water run warm, hold the crunchy part under the tap,and gently massage. When all the crunch is gone I pat them dry and place them under a warm heat lamp until they dry. They are usually ok.

He does seem to have a slightly odd stance, but that might be the pictures.

There is a condition called omphalitis, or yolk belly, where for some reason the yolk in the gut does not absorb into thier system, but sits in the abdomen, putting pressure on the internal organs and causing distress. These chicks seem to have an oddly large or distended belly, they sometimes walk oddly because of this large belly, they do not eat and drink but cry a lot and look 'off'. It will kill the chick.

I have had this condition twice. Did not know what it was and discovered it by accident when I noticed the one chick's navel scab seemed to be prominent, flicked at it with my finger (not thinking anything of it) and it flew off and yolk squirted out like mustard out of a squeeze bottle! Scared the daylights out of me! BUt you could almost see the chick go aahhh in my hand as the pressure released and his innards quit hurting. He was a sticky mess! The navel kept dripping for a while. I separated him until he was drip free, washed and dried and he lived.

I am not saying this is what you have. I am saying this is one thing to consider when you have 'odd/off' chicks. Watch for the large belly, sometimes bigger on one side than the other, off balance, peeping, misery difficulty walking due to weight of yolk. Consider picking the navel scab, but I would not suggest you do this unless you have solid reason to suspect this is the problem. Hope the little one is okay.

sorry, but I would do the deed. I have had the yolk belly chick and they are in pain and they die, well the ones that I have had do, they do not grow properly. I do not have any room in my life for chicks that are not 100% healthy and I let them go to another place, which is a good place. I have a tough love, and will always stand by that, if a chick is showing signs of not growing properly in the first few days, and you will know this by about 3 days old, that must go. I had a chick I had to cull recently. He was with the nestmates, the others were 5 days old and he was half the size, still had that bobble head baby look and cried alot. It made me sick when I heard this peeping, cause that is pain sound. He is in a good place now. It happens. Some just don't get off to a good start. You can try to help him in whatever way you can if you want, but I do not have that warm and mushy side to save a chick that is not 100%. Period. Some may deem this mean or uncaring, but it is not really. I cannot have a less than strong chick around here, I think weak chicks have the propensity to bring illness with low immune systems to my flocks, and that ain't happenin'. Good luck, hope all goes well. Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

An easier way to view the culling is to consider "would this chick survive, under the care of a momma hen?". After watching the hens with babes, it is easy to see that only the strong, healthy smart chicks will be able to keep with the family, and find the food that momma scratches up etc. nature does the culling for you that way. Ask yourself this question, and the answer should determine a chicks fate.

What a bunch of meanies. CynthiaM is actually the Grim Reaper disguised in this little, tiny body. (I can say that because she is my friend)

Cull the weak. Makes perfect sense. OR...pull out all the stops to do everything in your power to give achick a fighting chance and then let the chips (chicks?) fall where they may.

For splay leg, I make little band-aid braces, the poultry equivalent of Forrest Gump. Weak, floppy chicks, I drip cod liver oil into them once a day, propping open their mouths and delivering a drop of this magic elixir. Yolk belly, drain, wash, give cod liver oil and pick the navel again and keep it open, keep it draining.

I am not trying to improve chickens nor meet a book standard (blah on the SOP!)I am simply enjoying my flock. They need to meet my idea of good enough and no one elses. If I have some that survive to adulthood that nature might have culled, well bully on MOther Nature, she is not the boss of me! Well, she is, but I put up one hell of a fight before I relinquish a bird.

There is nothing wrong with taking a hard line off-with- their-heads approach. And there is nothing wrong with trying to help a chick survive. As I see it my help is minimal, I may help a chick for a few days at the start of life and if it's going to live, the real work is still its own. But even with my help, those that are destined to 'go to a better place (puhleese!) go.

I have saved with leg braces, cod liver oil of yolk drainage, many chicks and cannot say that I find them troublesome in adulthood. Here chickens rarely drop over for no reason, they are mostly taken by predators, so I cannot blame my chicken losses on bad starts in life. It has just not been my experience. So kill....or get out the bandaids and make a splint...

Thanks all. Until I can bring home a bandaid tonight, I tied the little guys legs with yarn. The stance had changed by the time I got home yesterday, the legs pushed outwards more. I checked his navel and it was a little caked so I washed him down with warm water, made sure there was no scabbing, but I didn't pick at it. His tummy is a little softer than the other birds, has a bit more squishiness to it, but I watch him last night as he ate and drank and eliminated waste, so he's still got some drive in him, he just stumbles around.

I noticed too, part of his problem is he tends to try to walk on his tip-toes and stands up real tall with his wings out when he moves, which usually topples him head over heels in a very short amount of time. Since lightly tying his legs (I tried to position them correctly), he stands better and doesn't shake, and after getting the bind on him, he stopped screaming his head off.

The other birds do pick at him, so I have him in a box within the brooder closet. If he makes it, he makes it, but I have done what I can so far and will keep an eye on him. Thanks for all the advice.

I'm very surprised actually, though understanding of the culling opinion. I suppose it's better to say I'm not surprised by the opinion, but rather who does/does not have it straight off the hop. No offense to either of you, but I thought Cynthia would have Uno's point of view and vice versa LOL. Uno's abrupt, in-your-face nature (not that I mind!) vs Cynthia and her calm, endearing posts (I'm starting to think I have my foot in my mouth) had led me to believe each of you would have the opposite opinion on the matter I find this so humourous and had such a laugh about it last night.

Sweetened wrote:
I'm very surprised actually, though understanding of the culling opinion. I suppose it's better to say I'm not surprised by the opinion, but rather who does/does not have it straight off the hop. No offense to either of you, but I thought Cynthia would have Uno's point of view and vice versa LOL. Uno's abrupt, in-your-face nature (not that I mind!) vs Cynthia and her calm, endearing posts (I'm starting to think I have my foot in my mouth) had led me to believe each of you would have the opposite opinion on the matter I find this so humourous and had such a laugh about it last night.

Uno wrote: What a bunch of meanies. CynthiaM is actually the Grim Reaper disguised in this little, tiny body. (I can say that because she is my friend)

Ha, now I am laughing, I am not the Grim Reaper, Uno, and you can call me that because indeed, you are one of my chosen friends . I am logical and have a no fix it type of attitude. If I only had a few chickens that I raise, I might take a broken chick and try to fix it. Well, no. Thinking about it. I wouldn`t, guess it is just me. Ya, in-your-face, Uno, that is her, smiling, but love to have that gal in your face, she is special girl.

One time when you have a little chick, this is to everyone that cannot have that tough love attitude, such as I and other shares, you will see a chick that has had a bad start to life. That chick will be abused by the other chicks, in many ways, big or small. They are out of the ordinary. Birds are curious and they are attracted to that. Chicks that are "different", in my point of view, must be separated.

Don't get me wrong, in my early startings with raising chicks, I did try to help by just letting the baby live. Never had any issues where I required splints or bandaids, but some that were well, just not well. Never ended good. The weak babies, when you are not there watching will fall over. And you know what happens then, they are trompled. I have that tough love thing. I will never allow a baby to be in a position, where because of weakness, that it could come to much more pain, by like being trompled to death. Which is worse, cervical dislocation, maybe to go to a nicer and better place, or to fall down, and watch the world above you crush you with teeny tiny feet. Nope. Never will change. If a chick is weak in any way, that does not live with my birds. I know many have success with bandaids and splints and my hat off to you, that you will take that time to try and fix, just not in my chemical make up. Tough birds, strong birds, good immune systems, illnesses few and far between. Have that great and awesome day, CynthiaM.

I had a chick last year that looked similar to the photos you posted. I didn't notice the problem at first as a first-time chicken lady with alot of chicks (80) running together in a large brooder. After about a week, I noticed one that was slower than the rest, with bent legs. At the time, I didn't know any better, so I just let things be. The chick's legs got worse and worse (I had assumed it would just be a regular chicken with a limp that I could butcher for making soup in the fall). Now that I know how uncomfortable the chick got, I would have tried the band-aid trick as this was not a bird I wanted for breeding anyways. Had that not worked, I should have culled it much sooner.

This is all a learning experience for you. Hearing what other people do and then experiencing it yourself helps you to develop what works best for you.

I tend to be a bit heartless (like CynthiaM ) but there always seems to be one or two that slip through every year. I had a little splash marans chick this year, hatched with bent toes. Normally I don't put up with any 'feet' issues, but for some reason I took a bit of a liking to this little fellow....sigh. Well, now I have a 2 month old cockerel that has thrived and grown, but has twisted feet. He is beautiful in a gimpy sort of way. All along as he was growing I would look at him and think I should do something about him, but he is still here. I guess I will eat him with the others, how many of you think I will do it? I know he can't stay, but I am not sure why he is still here.

Would you like him CynthiaM?

WHAT!?!

In your face?

I'm going to be the bigger person here and just let this one slide. This one time. But I'll remember this. Oh yeah, locked in the brain....like grade 12 algebra.

Sweetened, I should add that not all leg problems can be fixed with a bandaid splint. If the problem comes from the hip area, where the leg ties into the body, no splint has ever solved what I think is a dislocation. NOt for me anyway. If the problem is that the lower joints are a little twisted or too weak to hold up a big chick and the legs splay out the bandaid splint works wonders. BUt hip problems are pretty hopeless and very distressing to the chick.

Note: I cut my bandaids lengthwise, so they are 1/2 or 1/3 their original width, otherwise, too thick. Cut BEFORE removing the paper. Also, stick the sticky side to your pants once or twice, to cut down the stickiness. Some bandaids have very aggressive adhesive and you can almost break a chick's leg trying to get that bandaid off 4 days later! SO unstick it a little before application. I like to wrap the bandaid around each leg, like a little handcuff, with a fingertip width between the wraps. You can judge appropriate leg spacing by the size of the chick. Like a little chicken hobble, but they do learn to walk and once you take it off 3 or 4 days hence, it's like magic. Usually. If not, call CynthiaM and she'll come over and ...you know...I can't say it. She is just so mean!

If you bandaid make sure and make waterer shallow or water and take out, I lost a couple that way one year, cos they fell in and couldnt get out.
Good luck.