Chicks walking on hocks

It seems I am needing lots of advice lately.

I just hatched out some chicks. They are a day old now and I notice that some of them are walking on their hocks. I have been researching and have not found a way to 'treat' this. It is not spraddle leg and their toes are not curled over. They just seem to be 'bow legged' and balancing on the outsides of their feet. When I pick them up and place them back down they balance for a few steps and appear to be walking like a normal chick but then sit back down on their hocks and seem to prefer waddling around that way.

What is wrong with them? What can I do? I've also noticed a few chicks with crooked legs with one leg pointing inwards. They all seem to be getting around just fine and are able to reach the food and water, but wondering if it would be more humane to cull them rather than have them grow up and continue to be unable to walk properly.

Help!

Hi Hawthorne,

I don’t know why some newly born chicks do the hock walk, but from my limited experience it seems to happen to the weaker ones that either hatched too fast (or were helped) and didn’t get a chance to build up their leg muscles enough before hatching. I’ve found doing the spraddle leg fix with a band-aid really helped my guinea Rocky (who couldn’t even stand at first) to gain some much needed strength and before long he was running around like normal. I'd try doing that and see if it helps. Also, adding vitamins like Poul-Vite to their water if you don't already can really help give them an extra boost. Good luck and let us know how it goes.