6 day old silkie with gimpy legs

[Jessimom]

Hi, I have a 6 day old silkie chick that has gimpy legs - they aren't as splayed as the splayed leg syndrome photos I've seen. He/she can walk but like it's drunk. It seems to me that it's not interested in eating, but is drinking. In all the posts I've seen, it's been older chicks that you've taped their legs to fix this. It has HAIRY legs, I really don't want to tape them, it would hurt taking it off. I didn't think I should isolate it, since it's so young. The others do snuggle with it, but when they are running around, they step on it. There are 22 chicks - about 5 of them are smaller than all the others. This is 1 of the 5 smaller ones, but isn't the smallest.

1. can I safely separate it?
2., can I fix it?
3. What should I try to feed it, if it won't eat the scratch?

Thank you so much!!

Kathy

 

[Eggcessive]

Are you feeding chick starter grower that has 20% protein in it? Scratch is totally not acceptable for a chick. Start some chick vitamins and electrolytes in the water for a few days, and continue vitamins in the water for this chick if it is still having walking issues.

 

[Jessimom]

Sorry, yes, it is a medicated starter feed. We have 4 stages of chickens right now 1 adult, 12 six months, 6 three months and all these 6 day old silkies. Different foods for each group. Will vitamins help the gimpy legs?

 

[emmaie892000]

You may want to try electrolytes in the water, vitamins could help. It may just be a slight birth defect.